Local dexamethasone improves periodontal healing of replanted dogs' teeth

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate histologically the effect of dexamethasone on root resorption in stored and replanted dogs' teeth. Twenty-nine roots from three beagle dogs were endodontically treated to prevent subsequent inflammatory root resorption of pulpal origin. The teeth were extracted and randomly assigned to three groups for 48-h storage. Group 1: control group teeth (n = 13) were stored in vials containing ViaSpan only; Group 2: topical treatment teeth (n = 10) were stored in vials containing ViaSpan and dexamethasone (16 micrograms/ml); and Group 3: systemic treatment teeth (n = 6) were stored in vials containing ViaSpan without any additives. Dexamethasone was administered intramuscularly (0.5 mg/kg body weight) 2 days prior to, on the day of, and every other day after extraction and replantation for two administrations. After 12 weeks, the dogs were sacrificed, and the teeth histologically prepared and evaluated according to the analysis of Andreasen. Significant differences were found for complete healing (P = 0.0583) and inflammatory root resorption (P = 0.0568) but not for replacement resorption (P = 0.1952). In addition, comparing local to systemic administration of dexamethasone (Group 2 vs. Group 3), statistically significant differences were found for healing, 85% (Group 2) vs. 67% (Group 3) (P = 0.0125) and inflammatory root resorption, 13% (Group 2) vs. 28% (Group 3) (P = 0.0126). This study indicated that topical use of dexamethasone enhances healing and results in fewer resorption complications.