Methods: Four canine roots each in the negative and the positive control groups were endodontically treated, extracted, replanted immediately and after one-hour bench-dry, respectively. Seventeen experimental roots were extracted for periodontal fibroblasts explant. The latter was subcultured with medium containing 200 μg/ml Ascorbic acid while the roots were endodontically treated, surface-denuded, sterilized and conditioned with 17% EDTA. These treated roots were either dipped in cell suspension (7 roots) or cell-sheet-wrapped (10 roots). The cell-coated roots were subsequently replanted according to a submerged protocol. After 6-week, the roots and the jaw bone were harvested, step-serially sectioned and histomorphometrically evaluated. Statistical analyses were performed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.
Results: There was no evidence of replacement root resorption in both experimental groups employing periodontal cell-dipping and cell-sheet-wrapping techniques. The observation was not significantly different from that in the negative control group where optimal healing was observed at 6-week while the positive controls showed significantly more replacement resorption as expected (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The role of cell-based therapy on critical-sized periodontal defect in delayed-replanted canine teeth might be exploited in tooth recycling and/or transplantation.