Periapical Microsurgery: Assessment of Different Types of Light-emitting Diode Transilluminators in Detection of Dentinal Defects.

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluated 4 different light-emitting diode (LED) transilluminators and the impact of operator experience in the detection of dentinal defects through an ex vivo TRUEJAW surgical model (Dental Engineering Laboratories, Santa Barbara, CA). METHODS: Forty-four extracted and endodontically treated mandibular premolar teeth were evaluated. Teeth were mounted in the models followed by surgical flaps and osteotomies to expose the apical third of the roots. After apical resection, the root-end surfaces were randomly inspected for the presence or absence of dentinal defects using a dental operating microscope (DOM) at ×19.4 magnification by experienced and novice LED evaluators. The assessment was made with the DOM light and 4 masked LED transilluminators of different diameters and luminous flux. The teeth were examined outside the models to establish the ground truth. The sensitivity, specificity, and kappa and McNemar test values of each light source by examiner were calculated. RESULTS: The use of LED transilluminators improved the diagnostic sensitivity of dentinal defects when compared with the DOM light alone for both examiners. For the LED-experienced evaluator, the medium-low transilluminator had statistically significant higher sensitivity than the DOM light and the small-low and small-high transilluminators (P < .05). For the novice LED evaluator, the medium-high transilluminator had the highest sensitivity. There was a statistically significant difference between the sensitivities of the medium-low transilluminator between the examiners (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this ex vivo surgical study, dentinal defects were more often detected with the LED transilluminators with a larger diameter and increased lumens. The operator's LED transilluminator experience was found to have a positive effect on the detection of dentinal defects using transillumination.

Periapical Microsurgery: Do Root Canal-retreated Teeth Have More Dentinal Defects?

INTRODUCTION: This microsurgical clinical study evaluated if teeth that have undergone endodontic retreatment are associated with more dentinal defects than primary root canal-treated teeth. METHODS: One hundred fifty-five patients who underwent periapical microsurgery treatment in a private practice setting were evaluated. The root ends were resected, and the roots were inspected for the presence of dentinal defects through the surgical operating microscope with the help of a 0.8-mm-diameter light-emitting diode probe light and methylene blue dye. The root canal treatment history (primary vs retreatment) of the teeth was documented and related to the presence or absence of dentinal defects. Bivariate analysis was performed using the chi-square test, and a multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression to evaluate possible confounding effects of patient age, sex, and tooth location on the association between treatment and the presence of dentinal defects. RESULTS: Of the 155 treated teeth, 33 were excluded (3 fractured and 30 missing treatment history). Of the remaining 122 included teeth, 73 (59.8%) had undergone primary root canal treatment and 49 (40.2%) retreatment. Sixteen teeth (22.5%) of the primary root canal group versus 33 (64.7%) of the retreatment group had dentinal defects. The proportion of retreated teeth with dentinal defects compared with primary treatment was statistically significant (P < .001) with a higher proportion of retreated teeth having dentinal defects. In the multivariate analysis, only the type of treatment was statistically significant (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This clinical study showed that root canal-retreated teeth are associated with more dentinal defects than primary root canal-treated teeth.