Evaluation of apical surface roughness after root resection: a scanning electron microscopic study.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to compare, by scanning electron microscopy, the smoothness of the resected apical root surface after preparation with high-speed #699 bur, #699 bur plus Shofu finishing and Zekrya bur, and with an erbium:YAG laser.


METHODS
Thirty-nine extracted human premolars were instrumented and obturated and their root apices were resected. The roots were divided into 4 groups according to the root resection method. The teeth were dried, metallized, and analyzed at x400 by scanning electron microscopy. Scores ranging from 0 to 3 were attributed to surface smoothness. The data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test for overall comparison, and by Dunn's test for individual comparisons.


RESULTS
Smoother surfaces were observed for the groups treated with the #699 bur and the #699 bur plus Shofu point finishing, while rougher surfaces were obtained with the laser, which differed significantly from the other 2 methods (P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment with the #699 bur plus Shofu finishing yielded better results in terms of surface smoothness, whereas the laser treatment produced more irregular and rougher surfaces after root resection.
Duarte
Marco Antonio Hungaro
MA
Sagrado Coração University, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil. mhungaro@travelnet.com.br
Domingues
Rubens
R
Matsumoto
Marisa Akemi
MA
Padovan
Luis Eduardo Marques
LE
Kuga
Milton Carlos
MC
D001047:Apicoectomy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001641:Bicuspid / Q000601:surgery*; D003754:Dental High-Speed Equipment; D003804:Dentin / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D019227:Tooth Apex / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure*