Autotransplantation of teeth in 215 patients. A follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the success rate of autotransplantation of teeth in consecutive patients and to analyze factors affecting the outcome.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The subjects consisted of 215 consecutive patients (101 women and 114 men; aged 9.1-56.4 years, median age 15.2 years [P(10) = 11.4, P(90) = 19.7]) who had undergone transplantation of a total of 269 teeth, all by the same surgeon. In patients with multiple transplants, only the first transplant was included, to ensure that all transplanted teeth were independent units. The transplants were recorded as unsuccessful if the tooth had been extracted or was surviving but with root resorption or ankylosis. The interval between transplantation and final follow-up was a median 4.8 years (P(10) = 2.0, P(90) = 5.5) for successful transplants and a median of 2.4 years (P(10) = 0.4, P(90) = 7.7) for unsuccessful transplants.

RESULTS

One-hundred seventy-five (81%) of the transplantations were recorded as successful and 40 (19%) as unsuccessful. Twenty-five teeth had been extracted and 15 had survived but did not fulfill the criteria for success.

CONCLUSIONS

The success rate of 215 consecutively transplanted teeth was 81%. The highest success rate was for transplantation of premolars to the maxillary incisor region (100%). Complications at surgery such as difficult extraction, deviant root anatomy, or damaged root periodontium affected the outcome. During growth, a successful transplant preserves alveolar bone.