The distance from the intraradicular post tip to the dental apex influences the degree of apical periodontitis

Etevaldo Matos Maia Filho, Suzanni do Amaral Rodrigues Veloso, Cláudia de Castro Rizzi, Fernanda Ferreira Lopes, Erick Miranda Souza

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate the relation between the distance from the intraradicular post tip to the radiographic apex (D) and the degree of apical periodontitis (AP). Methods: Full mouth periapical radiographs (n=14) were randomly selected from patients of the clinic of orthodontics of Centro Universitário do Maranhão (São Luiz/MA, Brazil). The sample was composed by the first 270 teeth presenting posts (convenience sample). The radiographic analysis was performed using the Periapical Index (PAI). An ordinal regression was used to test the null hypothesis that the degree of AP does not change according to D. The odds ratio (OR) with an confidence interval of 95% (CI 95%) was calculated to estimate the risk of occurring PAI scores 4 and 5 in the teeth with D≤5 mm. Results: A significative relation between D and PAI was found. Teeth with lower values of D were more prone to present greater values of PAI (R2N =0.167, p&li;0.05). The risk of teeth with D≤5 mm to present PAI scores 4 and 5 was 2.82 times bigger (OR = 2.82, p&li;0.001, CI 95%: 1.6-4.76). Conclusion: The distance from the intraradicular post to the dental apex had influenced over the degree of AP. The closer the post was from the apex, the higher was the degree of apical periodontitis. Teeth with D≤5 mm showed a 3-fold greater chance of presenting high indices of apical periodontitis.

Keywords: Periapical periodontitis. Root canal filling. Endodontics.

How to cite: Maia Filho EM, Veloso SAR, Rizzi CC, Lopes FF, Souza EM. The distance from the intraradicular post tip to the dental apex inluences the degree of apical periodontitis. Dental Press Endod. 2011 July- Sept;1(2):75-80.

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