Comparison of 4 and 6 weeks of rest period for repair of root resorption

BACKGROUND: The study was designed to evaluate and compare the rest periods of 4 and 6 weeks for healing of orthodontically induced root resorption craters. METHODS: The study was conducted with a split-mouth design, with the right and left mandibular first premolars of 14 subjects serving as the two groups of the study. The right premolars constituted group A and the left ones, group B. Intrusive force was applied on these teeth for a period of 6 weeks, followed by retaining the teeth for 4 weeks (group A) and 6 weeks (group B) as rest periods before extraction. The extracted teeth were prepared for histologic examination with haematoxylin and eosin staining and studied under a light microscope. The histological sections were scored based on the level of repair (none, partial, functional, or anatomic) seen in the deepest craters in the apical third region of the roots. The mean values of the scores in the two groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: All the teeth showed healing in their deepest craters. The teeth in group A showed partial repair more frequently (84.6%), with the remaining (15.4%) showing functional repair. The teeth in group B showed anatomic repair more frequently (60%), with the remaining (40%) showing functional repair. The mean level of repair was higher in group B (2.6 ± 0.5) as opposed to that in group A (1.15 ± 0.37). The difference between these values was of very high significance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Longer rest period of 6 weeks showed more advanced healing than a shorter rest period of 4 weeks. Six weeks of rest period is adequate only for the functional repair of resorption craters.