The effect of systemic tetracycline on resorption of dried replanted dogs' teeth

The use of systemic penicillin after an avulsion injury has been recommended to decrease the occurrence of resorption complications. Tetracycline antibiotics have been reported to possess anti-resorptive properties in addition to their anti-microbial actions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate histologically the effect of systemically administered tetracycline and amoxicillin on the inhibition of resorption due to attachment damage after replantation of dogs' teeth. Thirty-one roots from the teeth of four beagle dogs were endodontically treated to inhibit subsequent inflammatory root resorption of pulpal origin. They were then extracted and left to bench dry for 1 h to ensure severe periodontal ligament damage before replantation. For the teeth in the experimental groups, two dogs were given tetracycline hydrochloride and the other two dogs were given amoxicillin, administered orally, on the day of extraction/replantation and for the following 6 days. The control group were teeth in these animals treated in the same manner but where no antibiotics had been given. After 12-16 weeks, the dogs were sacrificed and histological sections were prepared and evaluated for complete healing, inflammatory and replacement root resorption, and the groups were compared. It was shown that healing in the amoxicillin and the control groups was poor (10.90% and 11.28%, respectively), while for the tetracycline group, 35.45% showed complete healing. Individual teeth with over 50% complete healing sites were considered as having good healing, and significantly more of these teeth were found in the tetracycline group (5 of 11 teeth) compared to the amoxicillin (1 of 11 teeth) or control group (1 of 8 teeth).