Prior to the discovery of dental implants, most surgeons were only left with a few options to replace teeth. One of the more novel ways to address this dilemma was to transplant one’s tooth from a different location in the mouth, into the position of an extracted tooth or missing tooth = Tooth autotransplantation
The generally accepted success rate for such a procedure is any where from 50-70% (mind you that the success rates for the dental implants is above >90%). The biggest challenge with this method is the creation of a the new hole where the tooth is transplanted into…
Well a team in the Neatherlands, Dr. Moin et al, have come up with a novel way to address this challenge (JOMS 74:895-902, 2016). A 3D guided method to creating a hole that exactly matched the root morphology of the transplanted tooth. Just brilliant! I had thought of this idea last year.