A Comparative Evaluation Of Efficacy Of Apex Locators Vs Radiovisiograph In Determining The Working Length Of Single Rooted Teeth - An In-Vitro Study

Introduction: Root canal treatment is a gold standard procedure in dentistry for treatment of pulp diseases and dental injuries In Endodontic therapy, establishing the working length is one of the most important step for the success of the endodontic treatment. Electronic apex locators are gaining popularity for assessing the root canal length as they help in eliminating problems associated with radiographic measurements. Aim: To Compare and evaluate the efficacy of Apex locators in determining the working length versus a standard radiograph. Materials & Methods: This study included 20 single rooted teeth. 20 pre-operative images were obtained by radiovisiography. Access cavity was prepared for all the tooth. Working length radiograph was taken. Tooth were placed in an alginate medium as a substitute to periodontium and Propex-PIXI apex locator was used to calculate the working length and was compared to the per-operative working length. The Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical analysis package SPSS (Statistical package for social science). Results: The obtained results from apex locator were measured using Verniercallipers (19.8±0.76) and were compared to the preoperative working length determined using Radiovisiograph (19.47±0.89). P value obtained was greater than 0.05. Conclusion: Under the limits of the study, the obtained results have shown negligible difference in working length determination between the fourth generation electronic apex locator (PROPEX-PIXI) and conventional radiograph. This study concludes that apex locators can be used in determining the working length without any compromises and hence helps in decreasing the radiation exposure and chair time of the patient.