Apical third enlargement of the root canal and its relationship with the repair of periapical lesions

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the apical third enlargement of root canal is the determinant factor for the repair of periapical lesions in endodontic treatment.

Methods: Eighty upper and lower incisors, canines and premolars with periapical lesions were randomly divided in 2 groups and were treated by undergraduate students. Canals were instrumented with up to 3 files in group I (n = 40) and up to 4 files in group II (n = 40) 1 mm short of the apex and were filled with a calcium hydroxide dressing. After removing calcium hydroxide 14 days later, both groups were filled using the lateral condensation technique. In the 2-year follow-up, a few patients did not return, and some cases did not present conditions for accurate comparisons. Therefore, only 43 patients (24 in group I and 19 in group II) presented conditions for radiographic comparisons. Data were statistically analyzed using Fisher's exact test.

Results: Comparison of the initial and follow-up radiographs showed that 22 out of 24 (91.67%) patients in group I and 17 out of 19 patients (89.47%) in group II showed repair. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between the groups (P>.05).

Conclusion: The results of this study show that the apical third enlargement did not alter the outcome of endodontic treatment of teeth with periapical lesion performed by undergraduate students. (Eur J Dent 2012;6:385-388)

Key words

Root canal instrumentation - periapical lesion - repair - endodontics

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