Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Working length is defined in the endodontic glossary as the distance from a coronal reference point to the point at which canal preparation and obturation should terminate. Inaccuracy in determining and maintaining working length (WL) may result in length being too long leading to apical perforation. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of different canal curvature on accuracy of working length determination using apex locator. Materials & Methods: The present study was conducted on 45 mandibular molar teeth of either gender. The degree of root canal curvature was determined by Schneider’s method. Samples were divided into three groups. Group I were with mild canal curvature (< 20°), group II were moderate canal curvature (20-36°) and group III were severe canal curvature (>36°). The actual root canal length was determined using a no. 8 or no. 10 file into the canal until the tip of the file emerged through the major apical foramen. Differences between EWL and AWL were calculated. Results: Statistical analysis was done using statistical software ‘Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)’. The recorded data was subjected to suitable statistical tests to obtain p values and mean. P ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Group I teeth were with root curvature < 20°, group II with 20-36° and group III with >36°. Maximum difference was observed in group III, followed by group II and group I. In group I, the difference was 0.182 mm, in group II was 0.214 mm and in group III was 0.227 mm. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Apex locator found to be more accurate for the mild curvature group than moderate and severe groups.

Key words: Apex locator, Canal curvature, Root canal length

Received: 24 February, 2019                  Revised: 28 March, 2019                        Accepted: 29 March, 2019

Corresponding Author: Dr. Apoorva Sharma, Post Graduate Student, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Shree Bankey Bihari Dental College and Research Centre, Ghaziabad, India

This article may be cited as: Sharma A, Tangu A. Intricate Estimation of Effects of Different Root Canal Curvatures on Accuracy Of Apex Locator: An (In-Vitro) Original Study.  J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2019;7(5): 21-24.