Treatment outcomes after uncomplicated and complicated crown fractures in permanent teeth

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this retrospective clinical study were to describe characteristics of crown fractures in permanent teeth and to investigate the survival of pulp vitality and restorations in uncomplicated and complicated crown fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study collected information from patients suffering from dental trauma who were treated between January 2004 and June 2017. The study population consisted of 434 patients (253 males/181 females; mean age 20.7 years) with 489 uncomplicated and 127 complicated crown fractures. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were performed to explore the data statistically. RESULTS: The mean observation time was 522 days. Uncomplicated crown fractures without luxation showed a higher success rate of 82.3% (345/419) than complicated crown fractures without luxation (72.3%, 73/101). An additional luxation in uncomplicated crown fractures resulted in significantly reduced success rates in terms of survival of the pulp and restoration. Direct restorations survived significantly better independent of the fracture mode than did adhesively reattached crown fragments. No superiority of mineral trioxide aggregate or calcium hydroxide as pulp capping agent in complicated crown fractures was documented. Approximately 85.5% of all complications occurred within 2 years after the accident. CONCLUSION: The treatment of crown fractures resulted mostly in successful outcomes and only a moderate number of complications were observed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Primary dental management of crown fractures should follow recently published clinical guidelines, and close monitoring over at least 2 years seems to be justified.