0000000000379441
AUTHOR
Santiago Frajlich
The Evaluation of Four Electronic Apex Locators in Teeth with Simulated Horizontal Oblique Root Fractures
The accuracy of four electronic apex locators (EALs) to locate the apical limit in teeth with simulated horizontal oblique root fractures was investigated. A horizontal oblique incomplete root fracture was simulated on 20 freshly extracted maxillary anterior teeth by means of a notch made on the vestibular root plane 8 mm from the anatomic apex. The EALs investigated were the ProPex (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), the NovApex (Forum Technologies, Rishon Le-Zion, Israel), the Root ZX (J. Morita Corp, Kyoto, Japan), and the Elements Apex Locator (SybronEndo, Orange CA). The electronic measurements were compared with the real "working length." The accuracy obtained was of 80% (n…
In vitro evaluation of the ability of three apex locators to determine the working length during retreatment.
The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the accuracy of three apex locators in determining the working length during the retreatment process. Twenty extracted single-rooted human teeth with mature apices were used in this study. The root canal length of each tooth was measured placing a #15 file until the tip was visible at the apical foramen. The direct visual measurement was reduced by 0.5 mm and recorded. The root canals were instrumented and filled to the direct visual measurement using lateral compaction technique. After 7 days the teeth were retreated using three apex locators: ProPex, NovApex, and Root ZX, for determining the retreatment working length. Afterward, comparis…
Influence of Instrument Size on the Accuracy of Different Apex Locators: An In Vitro Study
The aim of this in vitro investigation was to determine the accuracy of 4 different electronic apex locators (EALs) with 3 different instrument sizes. For this study 146 roots were embedded in an agar solution. Electronic measurements were made to the physiologic foramen (apical constriction) with the Elements Apex Locator, Justy II, Raypex 5, and ProPex II and K-type files sizes 08, 10, and 15. Statistical significances were calculated with the sign test (P < .001). Exact measurements to the physiologic foramen were made with the Elements Apex Locator, 36.99%, 39.04%, and 44.93%; Justy II, 38.62%, 32.41%, and 43.41%; Raypex 5, 42.76%, 39.31%, and 39.06%; and ProPex II, 38.62%, 43.45%, and …