A CASE OF TOOTH FRACTURE, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON TISSUE REPAIR AND ADAPTATION FOLLOWING TRAUMATIC INJURY

¹ Foundation for Dental Research of the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, Chicago, Ill.

An upper central incisor, having a fracture of crown and root, was examined histologically in serial sections through the anterior portion of a jaw obtained by autopsy.

The pulp remained vital, and a large amount of secondary dentin had been formed in the pulp chamber in response to the fracture of a corner of the crown.

No solid union between the two fragments of the root took place; but there was a fibrous connection that closely resembles, and is the functional equivalent of, the periodontal membrane.

The periodontal membrane of the fractured tooth shows the structure and thickness corresponding to the functional conditions. In the apical fragment the periodontal membrane is thin and atrophic; in the incisal fragment, thick and fibrous.

An epithelial attachment to the dentin developed on both fragments where the fracture line through the dentin ran through the epithelial attachment.

The pulp of the upper left central incisor, which was not fractured, was destroyed by the trauma, and a granuloma developed at the apex.