The effect of bench drying or removal of the periodontal ligament with NaOCl upon periodontal healing and root resorption after replantation of molars was studied in rats. A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley female rats were used and fed a powdered purina rat chow diet containing 0.4% beta-aminoproprionitrile. The maxillary first molars were extracted and the periodontal ligaments were removed either by bench drying for 15 minutes or by immersion in 2.5% NaOCl solution. The rats were sacrificed at 5, 10, and 21 days by heart infusion. In order to observe the effect of 0.5% stannous fluoride, $10^{-4}M$, $10^{-2}M$, and 1M etidronate disodium on the early stage of periodontal healing, the periodontal ligament was removed with 2.5% NaOCl followed by immersion of the molar in the respective solutions for 5 minutes. The rats were sacrificed after 10 days and the following results were obtained. 1. The removal of the periodontal ligament with 2.5% NaOCl seemed to be more effective than bench drying, since the resorption area in the NaOCl treated group showed a gradual increase whereas a decline in resorption area from 5 days to 21 days was observed in the bench dried group. 2. The application of 0.5% stannous fluoride seemed to enhance the periodontal ligament attachment and active migration of fibroblasts could be observed. 3. The application of $10^{-4}M$, $10^{-2}M$, and 1M etidronate disodium led to a good periodontal ligament attachment. No evident areas of root resorption were found. 4. The use of ${eta}$-APN made it possible to extract the maxillary first molar with all five roots intact.