UNASSIGNED: An accurate working length (WL) estimation is fundamental to a successful endodontic therapy. The objective of this comparative in vitro research was to investigate the performance of iPex II and the Root ZX Mini electronic apex locators (EALs) in measuring root canal WL with different irrigant solutions and their relation to the electrical conductivity of irrigation solutions.
UNASSIGNED: Seventy sound permanent lower premolar teeth, each with a single root and developed apices, were used. Under an X15 stereomicroscope, the real working length was determined with the aid of a #10 file. After that, teeth were placed into an alginate model, and the iPex II and Root ZX Mini were used for the detection of electronic working length with various irrigants. Seventy teeth were randomly distributed into seven groups, 10 per each group (group I: dry canal; group II: distilled water; group III: ozonated water; group IV: 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); group V: 2% chlorhexidine, group VI: 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution, and group VII: 17% EDTA gel). The difference in WL was calculated by deducting real working length from its electronic working length. The study also evaluates the electrical conductivity of the seven endodontic irrigant solutions. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used for statistical analysis.
UNASSIGNED: Statistically, neither both types of EALs (P = 0.088) nor various irrigating solutions with varying electrical conductivities (P = 0.099) significantly affect the accuracy of EL estimation.
UNASSIGNED: There were no significant differences between the accuracy of the Root ZX Mini and the iPex II. The accuracy of both apex locators is unaffected in the presence of various irrigation solutions with varying electrical conductivities in this research.

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, radiographs were used to assess the working length of root canals. However, the use of Electronic Apex Locators (EAL) may be a non-invasive alternative. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the electronic apex locator (EAL) compared to radiographic measurements in determining the working length of root canals.
METHODS: The study assessed the performance of EALs in different scenarios, including the presence of blood and pulp tissue, the use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as an irrigant, and post-instrumentation with normal saline. An electronic apex locator (DTE DPEX-V; Woodpecker, China) was used alongside traditional radiographs to measure the working length in 144 root canal treatments. Bland-Altman analysis was used to compare the measurements between EAL and radiographs using Jamovi software, v2.4.8 (https://www.jamovi.org/).
RESULTS: The findings revealed strong correlations between EAL and radiographic measurements across all testing environments, with Pearson\'s correlation coefficients ranging from 0.944 to 0.998. The Bland-Altman analysis suggests bias; the average difference was negative and close to zero (Pulp: -0.354, EDTA: -0.0972, NaOCl: -0.0382, Saline: -0.0139) when EAL measurements were compared to radiographic measurements.
CONCLUSIONS: The working length measurement of root canals using an electronic apex locator such as DTE DPEX-V is comparable to traditional radiographic measurements. The use of irrigants improves the measurement. The EAL has the potential to be an alternative to the invasive radiograph for root canal length measurement.

BACKGROUND: Endodontic treatment aims to eradicate both microbial infection and inflammatory processes within the root canal space as well as in the periapical (PA) region of the tooth. To achieve this, the canals should be cleaned, shaped, disinfected, and obturated to the proper working length. Clinically, the working length is described as the measurement from the coronal reference point to the physiological apex located at the apical foramen. In the available literature, electronic apex locators (EAL) with periapical (PA) radiographs are the most reliable and precise tools for determining the working length in routine root canal treatment. Therefore, the aim of this retrospective clinical study is to evaluate if cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans are reliable and accurate in measuring endodontic working length compared to standard clinical measurement methods.
METHODS: Patients who fit the inclusion criteria were identified. A postgraduate endodontic resident blinded to the cone beam computed tomography scan results treated all teeth in the field of view that needed endodontic treatment. The root canal length was determined using J Morita Root ZX II apex locator (J Morita Corp., Kyoto, Japan) and periapical radiographs. The dental radiology specialist interpreted the pre-existing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan images and determined the working length. Statistical comparisons of the working length measurements of EAL and CBCT were performed using paired sample t-tests after verifying normality.
RESULTS: No statistically significant differences in the working lengths were found in all canals with the exception of the palatal canal only (t=2.16, p=0.034), suggesting consistent measurements between EAL and CBCT.
CONCLUSIONS: In teeth requiring endodontic treatment, pre-existing cone beam computed tomography scan images are accurate as electronic apex locators when determining the working length. A limitation of this study is that it only includes a limited number of samples and is affected by operator variation.

UNASSIGNED: Accurate working length (WL) determination is essential for successful root canal therapy.
UNASSIGNED: The aim of this study was to compare the difference between two different techniques in locating minor constriction using fifth-generation electronic apex locator.
UNASSIGNED: A detailed protocol explaining the procedures of the study was submitted to the institutional ethics committee.
UNASSIGNED: Forty extracted human permanent canine teeth were selected. WL was measured three times for each sample by three different examiners for both the conventional and experimental techniques at different time intervals. Interexaminers were blinded to their measurements, and the person who analyzed mean value was also blinded with techniques. Finally, radiographic working length was obtained using 15 size K-file. A size 20 K-file was cemented into the measured position with glass ionomer cement. Each tooth was viewed under a stereomicroscope at ×40 magnification. The distance from the file tip to the root apex was measured and calibrated to the nearest tenth of a millimeter.
UNASSIGNED: Using Stata statistical software (Version 17, Statacorp, College Station, Texas, USA). The agreement between raters and techniques was determined using intraclass correlation coefficient \"ICC\" and Bland-Altman plot.
UNASSIGNED: The \"experimental method\" (0.95, 95%) showed better agreement between the raters in comparison with the \"conventional method\" (0.93, 95%).
UNASSIGNED: The experimental technique showed perfect agreement between examiners in locating the minor constriction of the apical foramen.

UNASSIGNED: Electronic apex locators (EALs) are frequently used as adjuvant to radiographs in working length (WL) determination. The introduction of integrated apex locators (IALs) further simplified the root canal treatment by continuous monitoring of the apex while root canal shaping.
UNASSIGNED: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of radiographs, EAL, and IAL in determining the WL in the presence of various irrigants.
UNASSIGNED: The present in vivo study was carried out on 30 patients who were divided into 10 in each group, based on the type of irrigant used; 0.9% saline (Group 1), 0.2% chlorhexidine (Group 2), and 2.5% of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) (Group 3). In each group, WL is determined using conventional radiographs, Root ZX Mini (EAL), and CanalPro CL2i (IAL).
UNASSIGNED: Kruskal-Wallis test and Friedman\'s two-way ANOVA test were used for statistical analysis.
UNASSIGNED: Mean WL was comparably lower with Root ZX Mini, while the WL by CanalPro CL2i and the radiographic method were comparable. In all methods, the type of solutions used did not influence the WL, with a higher mean WL when NaOCL is used as an irrigant. Nevertheless, the above comparisons were not statistically significant.
UNASSIGNED: the irrigation solutions employed in this study had no impact on the performance of apex locators and radiographs.

UNASSIGNED: Root canal success requires working length (WL) optimization. The current study examined how different apex locators on vital and non-vital teeth responded to instrument size.
UNASSIGNED: Three hundred patients (180 men and 120 women) receiving root canal therapy at the department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics were evaluated. Therefore, we determined that 200 of the patients\' teeth (100 vital and 100 non-vital teeth from the upper and lower jaws\' first molars) qualified for inclusion in our study. The pulp chamber was accessed using a sterile round bur. The coronal region of the root canal was preflared with successive Gates Glidden drills (Mani Inc. Japan) and irrigated with any one of the solutions 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), 2% chlorhexidine (CHX), or 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution after checking canal patency with a size #10 K file, where (#-number). Later, the working length was established using Ingle\'s technique and a radiovisiograph (RVG) 0.5 mm short of the radiographic apex. Two endodontists approved this RVG.
UNASSIGNED: Overall, the #15 K file and apex locators did not differ from Ingle\'s method. While the #8 K file differs significantly from all apex locators, the #10 K file showed a significant difference with all apex locators except Root ZX with 2% CHX (P = 0.06). Irrigation didn\'t influence apex locators\' accuracy.
UNASSIGNED: Even in the presence of irrigating solutions, electronic apex locator (EAL) can be utilized to calculate the working length with accuracy. The apex locators #15 k files, #10 k files, and #8 k files showed the most promising results.

This study aimed to compare the accuracy of three types of apex locators versus digital radiography for working length (WL) determination. This experimental study was conducted on 58 extracted maxillary premolars. The teeth were decoronated, the access cavity was prepared, and WL was determined using a #15 K-file to serve as reference. The WL was then measured by Woodpex V, Woodpex III, and Root ZX apex locators in the presence of 0.9% saline, and also on a photostimulable phosphor plate (PSP) digital radiograph taken by the parallel technique. The values were compared with the actual WL using the paired t-test (alpha = 0.05). Digital radiography, Root ZX, Woodpex V, and Woodpex III determined the WL within ±0.5 mm from the actual value in 84.48%, 100%, 89.66%, and 87.93% of the cases, respectively. Woodpex V (p = 0.039), Woodpex III (p = 0.001), and Root ZX (p = 0.001) significantly over-estimated the WL. The WL measured on digital radiographs was not significantly different from the actual WL (p = 0.213). The position of the apical foramen (central/lateral) had no significant effect on the accuracy of WL determination by different techniques (p >0.05). Within the limitations of this in vitro study, all the tested modalities showed acceptable accuracy for WL determination in maxillary premolars.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the in vivo accuracy of Wirele-X and RootZX II electronic apex locators (EALs) in determining the position of the major foramen using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) as the analytical tool.
METHODS: Eleven vital teeth planned for extraction from 5 patients were used. After conventional access cavity preparation, root canals were flared and negotiated up to the apical third with sizes 08 and 10 K-files followed by irrigation with 2.5% NaOCl. K-type files were used to determine the working length of the selected canals using Root ZX II and Wirele-X apex locators until their numeric displays read \"0.0.\" After fixing the silicon stop to the file, teeth were extracted and imaged in a micro-CT device using a double-scan protocol. Image stacks, with and without the file in the root canal, were then co-registered and the measurement error calculated as the absolute difference between the tip of the file and the major foramen. Positive and negative values were recorded when the file tip was detected beyond or short of the major foramen, respectively. Accuracy was determined on stable measurements within ± 0.5 mm when the file tip did not extend beyond the major foramen. The χ2 test was applied to compare the ability of the EALs to detect the position of the major foramen, and the t test for dependent variables was used to verify differences in the 2 measurements obtained in each tooth. Significance level was set at 5%.
RESULTS: Within a tolerance level of ± 0.5 mm, no significant differences were observed between the tested EALs regarding the absolute distance values (P = .82) or in their ability to detect the position of the major foramen (χ2 = 0.2588; P = .6109). The accuracy of the Root ZX II and the Wirele-X apex locators within ± 0.5 mm were 81.8% and 90.9%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Root ZX II and Wirele-X performed similarly regarding the in vivo detection of the major foramen. Using strict criteria, the accuracy of the Root ZX II and the Wirele-X apex locators were 81.8% and 90.9%, respectively.

UNASSIGNED: The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the accuracy in measuring the working length (WL) using Dentaport ZX, Rootor, and a newly introduced budget friendly electronic apex locator (EAL), E-Pex Pro in two commonly simulated clinical conditions (in the presence of irrigant and blood).
UNASSIGNED: Eighty-eight single-rooted premolars were randomly assigned to two groups according to simulated clinical conditions: Group 1: Presence of irrigant (5% NaOCl) and Group 2: Presence of blood. WL was determined with all three EAL and was then compared with actual length (AL) of the tooth, which was measured using Vision Inspection System. The difference between the length measured by EAL and AL was tabulated and statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Dunnett\'s test. All testing was done using two-sided tests at alpha 0.05 (95% confidence level). Thus, the criteria for rejecting the null hypothesis were \"P < 0.05.\"
UNASSIGNED: Measurement using Dentaport ZX, Rootor, and E-Pex Pro had an accuracy of 99.79%, 99.69%, and 99.64%, respectively, in Group 1 and 99.95%, 99.7%, and 99.74%, respectively, in Group 2. ANOVA revealed that the mean error value is least for Dentaport ZX followed by Rootor and then E-Pex pro EAL.
UNASSIGNED: Dentaport ZX gave better results both in the presence of NaOCl and blood followed by Rootor and E-Pex Pro EALs.

The introduction of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments improved the root canal preparation of the narrow and curved root canals, especially after the introduction of thermomechanical treated (NiTi) alloys that have a high flexibility to prepare the curved canal reducing the common clinical complication, such as fracture, the change of the original shape of the root canal as a result of the change in the curvature of the curved root canal, the change of the working length which caused by the creation of the ledges, canal transporting and zipping especially in medium and highly curved canal. This study aimed to compare the shaping ability of two heat-treated nickel-titanium single file systems using reciprocation motion and rotary motion in curved canals. Materials and methods Thirty extracted human teeth with one curved root at 25 to 56 degrees were used, two NiTi single file systems were used to prepare the curved root canal in two groups: Reciproc R25 (Munich, Germany: VDW) group (n=15) and One Curve (Besancon, France: Micro-Mega) group (n=15). Curved root canal instrumentation outcomes were evaluated using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Kruskal-Wallis with Bonferroni post hoc test was used to assess differences between working length, the angle and radius of curvature after instrumentation. Results There was a significant difference in angle and radius of curvature (-1.83° One Curve, -2.25° Reciproc blue and -0.18 mm One Curve, -0.19 mm Reciproc blue, respectively) (p<0.05) after instrumentation for both One Curve and Reciproc blue groups, and there was no significant difference in working length change (-0.16 mm One Curve, -0.32 mm Reciproc blue) after instrumentation of both One Curve and Reciproc blue groups (p>0.05). Conclusion The Reciproc blue single file system with reciprocation movement and One Curve with continuous movement cause a significant difference in curvature and radius of curved root canal affecting the original shape of the root canal with no significant difference in working length of the curved root canal.