Studies of the Apices of Teeth

Numerous bacteriological studies have been made clinically of the periapical region, but unfortunately the findings of the teeth have been inadequately correlated with the bacteriological results. Moreover, the emphasis has been placed on pulpless teeth or on those showing periapical roentgenological changes; studies made on normal teeth have been comparatively few. This made difficult an evaluation of the results obtained from teeth with periapical roentgenological lesions. The studies reported in the literature deal mostly with extracted teeth where limitations of the bacteriological procedures are obvious. In the present study post-mortem material has been utilized for the correlation of the periapical bacteriological findings with the clinical conditions of the teeth and the individual roentgenological lesions. In addition, the use of this type of material permitted certain technical methods and examinations which would be impossible in the living subject. Adequate numbers of normal teeth were also secured for examination, thus aiding in the evaluation of the bacteriological methods employed and the results obtained. The serial histological sections prepared of the teeth and lesions cultured provided a histological control of significance. A more or less complete history for each patient was available in the New Haven Hospital records. The other post-mortem findings, which included gross and microscopic examinations of the viscera, as well as bacteriological studies of the blood and organs, were also available for correlation with the dental findings.