Orthodontic Retreatment: Dental Trauma and Root Resorption

This chapter describes aspects related to orthodontic retreatment, care and control of root resorption. A clinical case is presented to illustrate the control forces on the teeth allows to perform orthodontic treatment in cases where a large root resorption for tooth movement associated with dental trauma. Even though both Dentistry and Orthodontics have presented continuous improvement, when one or more teeth are submitted to a dental trauma, the treatment of malocclusion can be completely altered (Malmgren & Malmgren, 2007). Previous detailed evaluation of the root morphology, at the beginning of the orthodontic treatment, is a requirement emphasized by Levander & Malmgren (1988). These authors advised a through examination of the root outline, observing the occurrence of any root resorptions, surface concavities and malformations, since teeth with these characteristics may be severely reabsorbed during treatment. When facing evident root resorptions, the treatment purposes must be reviewed (Malmgren et al., 1982). However, dental movement on traumatized teeth still receives inadequate attention by the specialized literature. Examining the related literature, many different publications about the topic can be found which do not contribute to the development of a safe protocol for clinical procedures. Kindelan et al., 2008, published a review about dental trauma and its influence on the management of orthodontic treatment, contributing with the currently best evidence on the topic. Recently, a research with questionnaires showed that about 40% of orthodontists were not acquainted with the recommendations for the orthodontic movement of traumatized teeth (Tondelli et al., 2010).