CLINICAL ANALYSIS OF ROOT CANAL LENGTH METER ACCURACY FACTORS

Objective:This study discussed the root canal working length measurement accuracy of the Raypex5 apex locator by comparing the root canal working length measured by Raypex5 apex locator and X-ray. Methods: 167 cases with Pulpitis and periapical periodontitis patients were selected who doctored for the dental treatment in Affiliated Hospital of Jinggangshan university during 2009-2011. Root canal length was separately measured in dry and wet state with the root apex locator, each root canal was measured 3 times for the average value, and then compared the root-canal length with that measured by the X-ray. Results: There was no statistical significance ( P 0.05) between the results of vital tooth root canal group measured by Raypex5 apex locator and that measured by X-ray photography in dry and wet conditions by SPSS13.0 statistical software, but there was statistical significance for dead tooth root canal. There was statistical significance (P 0.05) between the results of apical periodontitis group and non apical periodontitis group measured by Raypex5 apex locator and that measured by X-ray photography in dry and wet conditions by SPSS13.0 statistical software. Conclusion: The dryness in root canals is very important when using Raypex5 apex locator for determining root canal working length. Moreover, various measurement method combined Raypex5 apex locator should be applied to improve the accuracy of the measurement results.