Ex-vivo Evaluation of the Accuracy of Three Different Apex Locators in the Presence of Sodium Hypochlorite in Root Canals

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the precision of three endodontic apex locators-Propex Pixi, Woodpex III, and VDW Gold Reciproc-in vitro and under clinical conditions. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six single-rooted teeth were decoranated, and actual root canal lengths were measured and recorded with an operating microscope at x20 magnification. The teeth were then embedded in an ex-vivo model, and the measurement of the root canal length was obtained electronically. Each measurement was performed in triplicate, and the mean value was recorded. Data were analyzed statistically. Two paired sample t-tests were used for normally distributed data, and the Wilcoxon test was used for data that did not show normal distribution. A chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables according to the experimental groups. Results: Woodpex III showed significantly more accurate results than the other apex locators. Propex Pixi and VDW Gold Reciproc apex locators showed no significant difference. Conclusions: Under the circumstances of the present study, Woodpex III allowed for more accurate measurements compared with the other tested devices.

Keywords

• Apex locators
• electronic root canal length determination
• root canal treatment

Ethical Statement

Authors have no conflict of interest.

Kök Kanallarında Sodyum Hipoklorit Varlığında 3 Farklı Apex Bulucunun Doğruluğunun Ex-vivo Olarak Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Propex Pixi, Woodpex III, ve VDW Gold Reciproc apex bulucu cihazların doğruluğunun klinik koşulları yansıtacak şekilde in-vitro olarak kıyaslanması. Materyal ve Metot: Otuz altı adet tek köklü diş dekorone edildi ve gerçek kanal boyları 20X büyütme altında operasyon mikroskobu ile belirlenerek kaydedildi. Ardından dişler kanal boylarının elektronik olarak ölçülebilmesi için ex-vivo modele gömüldü. Her ölçüm üçer defa tekrarlandı ve ortalama değerler kaydedildi. Veriler istatistiksel olarak analiz edildi. Normal dağılıma uygun verilerin incelenmesinde ikili paired sample t test ile, uygun olmayan veriler ise Wilcoxon testi ile değerlendirildi. Gruplar arasındaki kategorik değişimlerin incelenmesinde ki-kare testi kullanıldı. Bulgular: Woodpex III Propex Pixi ve VDW Gold Reciproc cihazlarından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde doğru sonuçlar verdi. Sonuç: Mevcut çalışmanın limitasyonları dahilinde Woodpex III apex bulucu diğer cihazlardan daha tutarlı sonuçlar vermiştir.

Keywords

• Apex bulucular
• elektronik kök kanal boyu tespiti
• kök kanal tedavisi

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