ABSTRACT
Statement of Problem: Determining the appropriate Working Length [WL] is an important factor in the success of root canal therapy. Several methods are available for this purpose but radiography is the mostly used one
Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the conventional and self -developing films with a Gold standard in estimation of the working length
Materials and Method: In this descriptive study, radiographs were obtained with conventional and self-developing films from 45 mesiobuccal maxillary molar root canals which were mounted on a phantom head. Conventional films were processed automatically and self-developing films manually in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. The radiographs were examined by three endodontologists and one oral and maxillofacial radiologist under doubleblind conditions. Actual working lengths were measured on each tooth [Gold standard] and then measurements from each film type were compared together and against the Gold Standard. The data were analyzed using t-test and paired t-test
Results: The average difference in WL between the conventional and self-developing films measured against the Gold standard was 0.33 mm and 0.14 mm, respectively. No significant difference was found between these two types of films and the Gold standard [p =0.06 and p =0.7, respectively]. Also, there was no significant difference between these two types of films for estimation of the working length [p =0.4]
Conclusion: Although there was no significant difference between these two types of films, the assessment shows that self-developing films produced more accurate results in estimation of the working length. It is concluded that in the absence of dark room and processing solutions, self-developing films can be suitably used instead of conventional films
ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis, the most common metabolic disease, significantly decreases bone mineral density especially among post menopausal women. Techniques of screening osteoporosis are very expensive and needs the skill of an expert. The aim of this study was to assess the radiomorphometric and radiomorphologic indices in post menopausal women. This cross sectional, descriptive and analytical study was performed on 40 postmenopausal women who were referred to the oral and maxillofacial radiology department of the dental faculty in 2004. Mental index [MI], panoramic mandibular index [PMI], mandibular cortical index [MCI] and gonial index [GI] were assessed on their standard panoramic radiographs. Age, menopausal duration, dental condition, educational level, history of fracture and number of deliveries were also recorded and data was analyzed using T test, Man-whitney test, Pearson and Spearman correlation test and regression analysis. Age and menopausal duration have inverse significant correlation with GI, PMI and MI and direct significant correlation with MCI [p<0.001]. Dental condition and educational level significantly correlate with MI [p=0.03, p=0.04] and PMI [p=0.01, p-0.03] while, had no significant correlation with MCI and GI. Number of deliveries and history of fracture had no significant correlation with any of indices. Age and menopausal duration have more effect on MI, PMI, GI and MCI. MI and PMI correlate with more variables and they might be useful for prognosis and screening those patients with low bone mineral density