Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Apical periodontitis is a sequel to endodontic infection and manifests itself as the host defense response to microbial challenge emanating from the root canal system. The prevalence of AP among adults in different populations is well documented in the literature. Hence; the present study was planned for assessing the incidence of apical periodontitis in root canal treated teeth. Materials & methods: Assessment of a total of 70 patients who underwent root canal therapy was done. Complete demographic details of all the patients were obtained. Clinical and radiographic examination of all the patients was carried out. Apical periodontitis was judged present in teeth in which the apical part of the periodontal space was less than twice the remaining lateral ligamental space and in which a radiolucency of more than twice the width of the lateral periodontal ligament space was associated with the apical portion of the root. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Apical periodontitis was found to be present in 17 patients’ .i.e. the overall prevalence of apical periodontitis was found to be 32.08 percent. While assessing the incidence of apical periodontitis with age and gender distribution, non-significant results were obtained. Conclusion: Apical periodontitis is significantly prevalent among patients who have undergone root canal therapy. Key words: Apical periodontitis, Root canal treated