Evaluation of three instrumentation techniques at the precision of apical stop and apical sealing of obturation

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of two NiTi rotary apical preparation techniques used with an electronic apex locator-integrated endodontic motor and a manual technique to create an apical stop at a predetermined level (0.5 mm short of the apical foramen) in teeth with disrupted apical constriction, and to evaluate microleakage following obturation in such prepared teeth. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 85 intact human mandibular permanent incisors with single root canal were accessed and the apical constriction was disrupted using a #25 K-file. The teeth were embedded in alginate and instrumented to #40 using rotary Lightspeed or S-Apex techniques or stainless-steel K-files. Distance between the apical foramen and the created apical stop was measured to an accuracy of 0.01 mm. In another set of instrumented teeth, root canals were obturated using gutta-percha and sealer, and leakage was tested at 1 week and 3 months using a fluid filtration device. RESULTS: All techniques performed slightly short of the predetermined level. Closest preparation to the predetermined level was with the manual technique and the farthest was with S-Apex. A significant difference was found between the performances of these two techniques (

Evaluation of the slope of the articular eminence and the transverse angle of the glenoid fossa in an anatolian population

The purpose of this study was to compare a computer-aided method specially programmed for the measurement of the posterior angle of the articular eminence with formerly used methods, to investigate the angulation differences at different depths of slices, and to evaluate correlation with the transverse angulation. Three slices (central, medial, and lateral) at various depths of the glenoid fossa belonging to 64 dry skulls and two measurement methods were used in this study. The angulation of the articular eminence were measured and the transverse angle of each fossa calculated. No statistical difference was found between the articular eminence results of the two methods. According to the results, the one factor ANOVA central slice was found to be statistically steeper than the other two slices (p<0.05) (central = 60.33 +/- 10.19, medial = 58.26 +/- 8.6, lateral 58.28 +/- 10.1). No correlation was found between the transverse angle of the inclination of the posterior slope angulation. It was concluded that the computer-aided method is more reliable and accurate and is much easier to use when compared to the manual method. An additional important finding of this study is that the inclination of the articular eminence should be evaluated at various depths of the temporomandibular joint