The aim of this study was to evaluate in vivo the accuracy of the Raypex 5 and Root ZX electronic foramen locators (EFLs) in the presence of blood in the root canal space. Forty single-canal teeth scheduled for extraction were selected. Access cavity was prepared and coronal enlargement was carried out. Approximately two drops of blood were collected by finger prick and injected into the root canal space. The electronic working length (EWL) of each tooth by each device was established twice before (NB group) and after (WB group) injecting blood into the root canal. The tooth was extracted and the actual working length (AWL) was determined. Data were analyzed using McNemar's test. The accuracy rates of Raypex 5 and Root ZX within 0.5 mm in the NB group were 88.9% and 91.5%, with 83.3% and 86.2% in the WB group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the accuracy of each EFL in the two groups (p>0.05). Considering the NB and WB groups, there were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of the EFLs (p>0.05). The presence of blood in the root canal space did not influence the accuracy of the EFLs.
Background:For improving the quality of endodontic performance of practitioners in clinical practice, their basic, preclinical performance and knowledge must be taken into consideration. This study aimed to radiographically evaluate the technical quality of preclinical molar root canal treatments (RCTs) performed by undergraduate dental students at a dental school in Iran. Further, the effect of using Gates-Glidden (GG) drills on the final quality of RCTs was evaluated.Materials and Methods:In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 315 roots of 105 endodontically treated teeth in preclinical practice were evaluated radiographically. The analyzed quality parameters included length, taper and density of fillings, which were scored as S2 (adequate standard), the S1 (slight deviation), or S0 (considerable deviation). For all the parameters, acceptable, moderate and poor fillings received total scores of 6, 3-5 and 0-2, respectively. There were two groups of students: One group had used only K-files, and the other had used K-files along with GG drills. The quality of RCTs between these groups was evaluated using the aforementioned scoring protocol. The results were analyzed using Chi-square, Mann–Whitney and Fisher's exact tests (α = 0.05).Results:Under-fillings (P = 0.001) and under-shapings (P = 0.007) occurred mostly in mandibular root fillings. A lower density was found in maxillary fillings (P < 0.001). No relationship was observed between the technique used (irrespective of GG drills usage) and length (P = 0.499) and taper of fillings (P = 0.238). The roots instrumented with GG drills had a higher filling density (P = 0.004). The quality mean score of RCTs was improved when GG drills were used (P = 0.008).Conclusion:The technical quality of preclinical molar RCTs performed by undergraduate dental students was considered acceptable in 35.6% of the cases. When GG drills were used along with K-files, the technical quality of RCTs was enhanced.
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