• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2015

Objectives: This study compared the ability of several techniques to remove calcium hydroxide (CH) from the root canal and determined the influence of CH residues on the accuracy of the electronic apex locator. Materials and Methods: Root canals of 90 human maxillary lateral incisors with confirmed true working length (TWL) were prepared and filled with CH. The teeth were randomly assigned to one of the experimental groups according to the CH removal technique (n = 14): 0.9% saline; 0.9% saline + master apical file (MAF); 17% ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA); 17% EDTA + MAF; 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); 5.25% NaOCl + MAF. Six teeth were used as negative control. After CH removal, the electronic working length was measured using Root-ZX (Morita Corp.) and compared with TWL to evaluate Root-ZX accuracy. All specimens were sectioned longitudinally, and the area of remaining CH (CH) and total canal area were measured using imaging software. Results: The EDTA + MAF and NaOCl + MAF groups showed better CH removal than other groups (p < 0.05). Root-ZX reliability to prevent overestimated working length to be > 85% within a tolerance of ${\pm}1.0mm$ (p < 0.05). There was strong negative correlation between amount of CH residues and EAL accuracy (r = -0.800 for ${\pm}0.5mm$; r = -0.940 for ${\pm}1.0mm$). Conclusions: The mechanical instrumentation improves the CH removal of irrigation solutions although none of the techniques removed the dressing completely. Residues of CH medication in root canals affected the accuracy of Root-ZX adversely.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.289-299
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• 1996

It is necessary to measure the length of a root canal in order to attain a satisfactory prognosis after root canal therapy. There are several methods for determining root canal length, such as tactile sensation by the dental practitioner, the utilization of x-ray film, and electronic root canal measurement. Among these, the electrical measurement methods, in which the impedence between the oral mucous membrane and periodontal membrane is determined, have advantages of simplicity and accuracy. During root canal treatment, the root canal contains a solution of high electrical conductivity such as pus, blood, sodium hypochlorite and so on. Recently a new electronic root canal measurement device of frequency-dependent type has been developed, which is capable of measuring the length of root canal under moist conditions. Endex and Root ZX, which are frequency-dependent type, were evaluated for accuracy of measuring root canal length in vivo by stereomicroscope. The result were as follows ; 1. 82.5% of Endex and 87.5% of Root ZX measured in the range of ${\pm}0.5$ mm from the apical foramen and both showed 57.5 % in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. 2. Endex showed significantly higher accuracy in vital teeth than nonvital teeth(p<0.05). But in case of Root ZX, there was no significant difference between vital and nonvital teeth. 3. As a result of this study, there was no significant difference in accuracy between Endex and Root ZX, and both devices showed file passes the apical foramen in more than half of the cases, and it is thought that this must be considered clinically.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.390-397
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and the consistency of four different electronic apex locators in an in vitro model. Fourty extracted premolars were used for the study. Four electronic apex locators (EAL) were Root ZX, Smarpex, Elements Diagnostic Unit (EDU), and E-Magic Finder Deluxe (EMF). After access preparation, the teeth were embedded in an alginate model and the length measurements were carried out at '0.5' and 'Apex' mark using four EALs. The file was cemented at the location of the manufacturers' instruction (Root ZX, EDU, EMF: 0.5 mark, SmarPex: Apex mark). The apical 4mm of the apex was exposed and the distance from the file tip to the major foramen was measured by Image ProPlus (${\times}100$). The distance from the file tip to the major foramen was calculated at 0.5 and Apex mark and the consistency of 0.5 and Apex mark was compared by SD and Quartile of Box plots. In this study, Root ZX and EMF located the apical constriction accurately within ${\pm}0.5 mm$ in 100%, whereas SmarPex and EDU located in 90% and in 70% respectively. For Root ZX and EMF, there was no significant difference between the consistency of 0.5 and Apex mark. However, for the EDU and SmarPex, Apex mark was more consistent than 0.5 mark. From the evaluation of the consistency in this study, for Root ZX and EMF, both 0.5 and Apex mark can be used as a standard mark. And for EDU and SmarPex, the Apex mark can be recommended to be used as a standard mark.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.578-584
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• 1999

The purpose of this experiment was to determine: (1) the safe automatic apical reverse setting that prevents overinstrumentation of the root canal, using Tri Auto ZX$^{(R)}$ and (2) the effect of various irrigant on such instrumentation. The instrumentation was carried out with the automatic apical reverse setting of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. The root canal irrigants used in usual manner were normal saline(0.9%), NaOCl(2.5%), and RC Prep$^{(R)}$. For each reverse setting and each irrigant, ten teeth were used with the total of 120 teeth. The distance between the file tip and the apical constriction was determined by stereomicroscope using the point that the file began to rotate in reverse direction. When the reverse setting mode was set to 0.5, 18 of 30 were overinstrumented. If these were discriminated by irrigant, 10 of 6 with 0.9% saline, 10 of 6 with NaOCl, and 10 of 6 with RC Prep$^{(R)}$ has the file tip located 0.57${\pm}$0.30mm, 0.73${\pm}$0.39mm, and 0.26${\pm}$0.25mm beyond the apical constriction respectively. In 1.0 setting 15 of 29 were over the apical constriction, and the distribution was 6 in saline, 5 in NaOCl, and 4 in RC Prep$^{(R)}$. The mean distance over the apical constriction was 0.28${\pm}$0.13mm with saline, 0.75${\pm}$0.61mm with NaOCl, and 0.25${\pm}$0.17mm with RC Prep$^{(R)}$. When the autoatic reverse mode was set to 1.5, and 2.0, 5, and 1 teeth were found to be overinstrumented in respective settings. But there were large variations in overinstrumented distances when an attempt was made to compare the effect of irrigants on this overinstrumentations and they were meaningless for the small sample size. When all of the autoreverse setting were combined to compare the number of overinstrumented teeth with each irrigant, there were no significant differences (14 for normal saline, 12 for NaOCl, 13 for RC Prep$^{(R)}$). When 0.5 or 1.0 automatic apical reverse setting mode was used the Tri Auto ZX$^{(R)}$ in clinical application, the possibility of overinstrumentation beyond the apical constriction exists in 55.9% of cases. Therefore 1.5 or 2.0 setting is safer for the preparation inside the canal but this type setting needs additional apical hand preparation of the root canal because the accuracy is lower than 0.5 or 1.0 setting.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.35 no.5 s.336
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• pp.322-327
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• 1997

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consistency of two electronic apex locators in vitro model. Materials consisted of fifty two extracted premolars and two electronic apex locators; Root ZX (J. Morita, Osaka, Japan) and E-Magic Finder Deluxe (S-Denti. Cheonan, Korea). After access preparation, the teeth were embedded in a saline-mixed alginate model. Canal lengths of each tooth were measured at "0.5" and "Apex" mark of the apex locators, respectively so that each tooth had two measurements from 0.5 and Apex points. The file was fixed at final measurement using a glass ionomer cement. The apical 4 mm from the apex was exposed to measure the distance from the file tip to the major apical foramen of each tooth. Average distances and standard deviations were used to evaluate the consistency. Results showed that all measurements of both Root ZX and E-Magic Finder located the major foramen the range of ${\pm}0.5\;mm$ level. Both apex locators showed better consistency at Apex mark than at 0.5 mark. The average distance of file tip-major foramen was - 0.18 mm at 0.5 mark and - 0.07 mm at Apex mark in Root ZX, - 0.25 mm at 0.5 mark and - 0.02 mm at Apex mark in E-Magic Finder. Standard deviation was 0.21 at 0.5 mark and 0.12 at Apex mark in Root ZX, 0.12 at 0.5 mark and 0.09 at Apex mark in E-Magic Finder.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.200-205
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• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this in vivo study was to assess the accuracy of 2 third-generation electronic apex locators (EALs), Propex II (Dentsply Maillefer) and Root ZX II (J. Morita), and radiographic technique for locating the major foramen (MF). Materials and Methods: Thirty-two premolars with single canals that required extraction were included. Following anesthesia, access, and initial canal preparation with size 10 and 15 K-flex files and SX and S1 rotary ProTaper files, the canals were irrigated with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite. The length of the root canal was verified 3 times for each tooth using the 2 apex locators and once using the radiographic technique. Teeth were extracted and the actual WL was determined using size 15 K-files under a ${\times}25$ magnification. The Biostat 4.0 program (AnalystSoft Inc.) was used for comparing the direct measurements with those obtained using radiographic technique and the apex locators. Pearson's correlation analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for statistical analyses. Results: The measurements obtained using the visual method exhibited the strongest correlation with Root ZX II (r = 0.94), followed by Propex II (r = 0.90) and Ingle's technique (r = 0.81; p < 0.001). Descriptive statistics using ANOVA (Tukey's post hoc test) revealed significant differences between the radiographic measurements and both EALs measurements (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Both EALs presented similar accuracy that was higher than that of the radiographic measurements obtained with Ingle's technique. Our results suggest that the use of these EALs for MF location is more accurate than the use of radiographic measurements.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.52-58
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• 2020

Purpose: Using two types of electronic apex locators, this study aimed to investigate the differences in accuracy according to the evaluator and equipment. Materials and Methods: Artificial teeth of the lower first premolars and two mandibular acrylic models (A and B) were used in this study. In the artificial teeth, the pulp chamber was opened and the access cavity was prepared. Using calibrated digital Vernier calipers, the distance from the top of the cavity and the root apex was measured to assess the actual distance between two artificial teeth. The evaluation was conducted by 20 dentists, and each evaluator repeated measurements for each electronic apex locator five times. The difference between the actual distance from the top of the cavity to the root apex and the distance measured using electronic measuring equipment was compared. For statistical analysis, the Friedman test the Mann-Whitney U-test were conducted and the differences between groups were analyzed (α=0.05). Result: As for the accuracy of measurement according to the two types of electronic apex locators, the value of the measurement error was 0.4753 mm in Dentaport ZX and 0.3321 mm in E-Cube Plus. Moreover, electronic apex locators Dentaport ZX and E-Cube Plus showed statistically significant differences (P<0.05). As for the difference in the accuracy of the two types of electronic apex locators according to the evaluator, the resulting values differed depending on the evaluator and showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Conclusion: Electronic apex locator E-Cube Plus showed higher accuracy than did Dentaport ZX. Nevertheless, both types of electronic apex locators showed 100% accuracy in finding the region within root apex ±0.5 mm zone. Furthermore, according to the evaluator, the two electronic apex locators showed different resulting values.

• Proceedings of the KACD Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.622-622
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• 2007

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the accuracy of working length (WL) determination of four electronic apex locators (EALs), namely, Root ZX (RZX), Elements diagnostic unit and apex locator (ELE), SybronEndo Mini Apex locator (MINI) and Propex pixi (PIXI) using Stainless steel (SS) and nickel-titanium (NiTi) hand files. The null hypothesis was that there was no difference between canal length determination by SS and NiTi files of 4 EALs. Materials and Methods: Sixty extracted, single rooted human teeth were decoronated and the canal orifice flared. The actual length (AL) was assessed visually, and the teeth were embedded in an alginate model. The electronic length (EL) measurements were recorded with all four EALs using SS and NiTi files at '0.5' reading on display. The differences between the AL and EL were compared. Results: The results obtained with each EAL with SS and NiTi files were compared with AL. A paired sample t test showed that there was a statistical significant difference between EAL readings with SS and NiTi files for RZX and MINI (p < 0.05). The accuracy of RZX, ELE, MINI and PIXI within ${\pm}0.5 mm$ of AL with SS/NiTi files were 93.3%/70%, 90%/91.7%, 95%/68.3%, and 83.3%/83.3%, respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that Root ZX was statistically more accurate with NiTi files compared to SS files, while MINI was statistically more accurate with SS files compared to NiTi files. ELE and PIXI were not affected by the alloy type of the file used to determine WL.