Apical foramen morphology according to the length of merged canal at the apex

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the apical foramen morphology and the length of merged canal at the apex in type II root canal system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included intact extracted maxillary and mandibular human premolars (n = 20) with fully formed roots without any visible signs of external resorption. The root segments were obtained by removing the crown 1 mm beneath the cementum-enamel junction (CEJ) using a rotary diamond disk. The distance between the file tip and merged point of joining two canals was defined as Lj. The roots were carefully sectioned at 1 mm from the apex by a slow-speed water-cooled diamond saw. All cross sections were examined under the microscope at x50 magnification and photographed to estimate the shape of the apical foramen. The longest and the shortest diameter of apical foramen was measured using ImageJ program (1.44p, National Institutes of Health). Correlation coefficient was calculated to identify the link between Lj and the apical foramen shape by Pearson's correlation. RESULTS: The average value of Lj was 3.74 mm. The average of proportion (P), estimated by dividing the longest diameter into the shortest diameter of the apical foramen, was 3.64. This study showed a significant negative correlation between P and Lj (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: As Lj gets longer, the apical foramen becomes more ovally shaped. Likewise, as it gets shorter, the apical foramen becomes more flat shaped.

A comparison of master apical file size according to instrumentation in type II root canal / 대한치과보존학회지

Type II root canal was defined that two canals leave the chamber and merge to form a single canal at short of the apex. The aim of this study was to analyse the master apical file (MAF) size according to various instrumentation techniques in the type II root canal when each canal was enlarged to working length. Eighty mesial roots of molar with ISO #15 initial apical file (IAF) size in type II root canals were randomly divided into four experimental groups with 20 teeth each. According to enlarging instruments, four groups are: K-FLEXOFILE(R) (KF), engine-driven Ni-Ti PROTAPER(R) (PT), HERO Shaper(R) (HS), K3 (TM) (K3). All canals were enlarged to each working length with ISO #30 size: #30 in KF, F3 in PT, .04/30 in HS, and .06/30 in K3. The master apical file (MAF) size was confirmed by tactile sensation and universal testing machine (EZ test, Shimadzu Co., Kyoto, Japan). The mean MAF size was statistically compared using one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test at the 0.05 probability level. These results show that the MAF size was appeared one or two sizes larger than the final enlarging instrument when all canal in type II configuration were enlarged to each working length. Therefore, the clinician have to confirm the apical stop once more after instrumentation of type II root canal.