The effects of periradicular inflamation and infection on a primary tooth and permanent successor

Abstract

Primary teeth and the permanent successors must be understood as interdependent units, where each one of them interacts with and depends on each other. Pulpal inflammation/infection of a primary tooth and the spread of this condition over the periradicular tissues can lead to alterations in the dental germ of the permanent successor and to the surrounding structures if no therapy is done, i.e. endodontics or extraction. This work will present cases of permanent teeth that showed alteration in eruption and / or in development, as a consequence of inflammation / infection of the preceding primary teeth, such as: hypoplasia, morphological alteration on the dental crown or total arrest of radicular formation. The teeth analysed in this study belong to patients who attended the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Children's Dentistry Clinic. The earlier these lesions are diagnosed, the less were the destructive effects and the consequences on the primary tooth / permanent germ unit.