Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Introduction: To measure on a digital radiograph the pre and post-operative root canal wall thickness and to evaluate the differences between radiographic measurements and the actual canal width, by using three NiTi rotary systems. Materials & methods: Palatal roots of 30 human maxillary first molars free of decay and restorations were selected from a collection of freshly extracted teeth. The palatal roots were amputed at cemento-enamel junction using diamond disc of 0.25 mm thickness. Standardized digital radiographs were taken before preparation of the canal and the thickness of the root canal wall was measured on the left and right side of the canal in bucco-lingual and mesio-distal planes at three levels (coronal, middle & apical third) by using software XVa3. The root canals were prepared by using Protaper (Dentsply Sirona, Canada), RaCe (FKG, Lachaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) and Mtwo (VDW, Munich, Germany) NiTi rotary systems. Standardized digital radiographs were taken again and dentin thickness measured in a similar manner after the preparation. Roots were sectioned horizontally at predetermined levels and actual root canal wall thickness was measured. The measurements were made blindly and the data were recorded using SPSS version 19 software (Microsoft, IL, USA). Results obtained were analysed using Paired "t" test, ANOVA & Pearson's Correlation coefficient. Results: Protaper had better cutting efficiency in all the planes whereas RaCe and Mtwo had varying results in different planes and locations. Radiographic measurements were higher as compared to the actual width. Conclusion: Digital radiography images overestimate the actual root canal wall thickness but Digital radiography has advantage over conventional radiography as it can measure the Root canal wall thickness in two-dimension for monitoring critical endodontic cases.