Aim: to assess the influence of the crown height (CH), root length (RL) and crown-to-root ratio (CRR) on the survival of te- eth subjected to surgical endodontic retreatment and classi- fied as periapically healed.
Methods: a single operator performed all the endodontic mi- crosurgery interventions. The present analysis selected the te- eth classified as ‘‘complete periapical healing’’ according to the Molven-Halse-Grung scale. The periapical radiographs were analyzed by two independent calibrated examiners, who measured CH and RL in a blind manner. The CRR was calcula- ted as the ratio of the two variables CH and RL. The measure- ments were performed by comparing the post-operative radio- graphs (t0) with those taken for a previous retrospective analysis (t1) and the most recent available (t2). An independent
statistician conducted a survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier plots and a log-rank test (a = 0.05).
Results: thirty-eight patients were evaluated, each one contri- buting to the study with a single tooth. The mean follow-up pe- riod was 5,96 ± 3,36 years. Comparing the CRR and RL values between t1 and t2, the difference was found statistically signifi- cant (p = 0.03). Survival was improved for the teeth with roots longer than 7 mm. There were no statistically significant diffe- rences among the remaining comparisons.
Conclusions: root length ≥ 7mm exhibited better chances of long-term survival. Over time, a risk of further decrease of cli- nical RL due to periodontal disease and consequent increase of CRR could be critical by a mechanical point of view. Other studies are needed.
