In vitro comparison of the eficiency of two electronic apex locators

Sérgio Henrique Staut Brunini, Michel Carlet de Lima, Aryele Cristina Schmidt, Lourival Raimundo dos Santos, Carlos Marcel C. Bonicontro

Introduction: Radiography has been widely used to deter- mine working length in Endodontics, even though its limita- tions have been extensivelly recognized. In order to render the assessment of working length increasingly accurate, different electronic apex locators have been developed. Objec- tive: The objective of this study is to compare in vitro the effectiveness of two electronic apex locators: Root ZX and Apex DSP. Methods: After coronary opening and preparation of the cervical and medium thirds of the root canal, a K-type file was inserted into the canal as far as the most cervical edge of the apical foramen. Subsequently, the teeth were placed into containers and embedded in alginate together with the lip clip of the apex locator so as to determine tooth length. Results: Comparison between measurements showed an 87.5% accuracy rate for Root ZX vs. 77.5% for Apex DSP, suggesting that there is no statistically significant difference between the two apex locators. Conclusions: Electronic apex locators appear to be efficient and provide a reasonable alternative method to determine the correct working length.

Keywords: Odontometry. Root canal preparation. Endodontics.

How to cite: Brunini SHS, Lima MC, Schmidt AC, Santos LR, Boni- contro CMC. In vitro comparison of the eficiency of two electronic apex locators. Dental Press Endod. 2014 Jan-Apr;4(1):15-20. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14436/2178-3713.4.1.015-020.oar

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