Periapical tissue reactions after pulp exposure in rat molars.

Apical periodontal lesions were produced in the rat molar by exposing the pulp to the oral environment. The natural history of the undisturbed lesion was studied at time intervals ranging from 2 days to 1 year postoperatively. The earliest reactions were usually inflammatory infiltration at the apex. The severity of the lesions was related to the amount of vital pulp still present in the tooth rather than to the time lapse after exposure. After 1 month most pulps has undergone necrosis and the lesions about the apices which followed showed two main types of reaction. In the case of the suppurative reaction, pus drained along a root surface, destroying the periodontal ligament and interradicular bone until it emerged at the gingival sulcus. The sinus tract could become lined with oral epithelium. In the reparative type of reaction, suppuration was absent or minimal and the apices were surrounded by fibrous connective tissue. The fiber bundles occasionally formed a collagenous scar, but they were usually replaced by cementum and bone with a new periodontal ligament. The width of the periodontium was never restored to its normal dimensions. Secondary destruction of the teeth occurred by fracture of cusps followed by caries which started in the exposed pulp chamber. Despite the predominance of destructive factors, spontaneous repair indicated good healing potential of the apical periodontal tissues.