title: Radiographic prevalence of root canal ramifications in a sample of root canal treatments in a Brazilian Dental School.
abstract: The aim of this study was to radiographically investigate the presence of root canal ramifications found after endodontic treatment, and to determine any relationship between their presence and the type of the auxiliary chemical substance used. The study evaluated 1,470 endodontic treatments performed by final year undergraduate students at the Dental School of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), SP, Brazil, during the period from 1998 to 2000. The X-rays taken during treatment were evaluated in order to establish the presence of ramifications of the root canal system. The initial X-ray did not show the presence of any canal ramifications. After filling, X-rays showed only 3 ramification types: 3.06% of lateral canals, 2.99% of apical deltas, and 0.1% of interradicular canals. The maxillary premolars showed the highest number of lateral canals (n = 13), followed by mandibular premolars (n = 10) and maxillary incisors (n = 10). Apical deltas were mostly found in mandibular molars (n = 14), followed by maxillary incisors (n = 9). Only mandibular molars had interradicular canals. The detection of ramifications increased with the use of EDTA. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between the type of auxiliary chemical substance used and the number of root canal ramifications detected after root canal filling. It was concluded that the frequency of root canal ramifications found radiographically was low in treatments performed by undergraduate students.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas, Av. Limeira 901, Piracicaba, SP 13414-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Iadasa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Quadros
authors.forename: Alexandre Augusto
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Zaia
authors.forename: Caio Cezar Randi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.forename: Francisco José
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: de Souza Filho
authors.forename: Brenda Paula Figueiredo de Almeida
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D019230:Dental Audit; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards; D006171:Gutta-Percha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D011859:Radiography; D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012389:Root Canal Obturation / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000592:standards; D013335:Students, Dental; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials; D006171:Gutta-Percha