Strategies for periodontal ligament cell viability: An overview

The long-term success of the reimplanted teeth is related to the maintenance of periodontal ligament (PDL) cell viability. Dental tissues are unique in comparison to most other tissues in the body due to their marked capacity for regeneration. Understanding the circumstances leading to repair and regeneration in oral tissues has been a formidable challenge. Numerous storage media have been introduced by many authors that help to maintain the PDL cell viability. To present an overview of the various available storage media. A literature search for the past 20 years was performed across the Internet database (Pubmed) and relevant citations using the keywords PDL cell viability, tooth avulsion, storage media, and the combination of all to retrieve around (n=225) citations. Articles that included follow-up of intervention for avulsed and re-implanted teeth were considered (n=44) and some literature review from well-known text books were considered. Literature supports that moist storage appears to be a more productive approach to optimize PDL cell survival. However, no medium is ideal and in vivo studies are inadequate.