Efficacy of an iodoform-based filling material for pulpectomy of primary teeth: A 24-month non-inferiority randomized clinical trial.

AIM: The aim of this non-inferiority randomized clinical trial was to compare the efficacy of an iodoform-based paste (Guedes-Pinto -(GP)) as a filling material in pulpectomies of primary teeth, and a standard material composed by calcium hydroxide and iodoform (CaOH/Iodof paste; Vitapex® ). DESIGN: A total of 104 teeth from 61 children (3-8 years old) were randomly allocated to two groups according to filling materials. Children were followed up for 24 months. The primary endpoint was the treatment success rate evaluated through clinical and radiographic examinations at follow-up, and the secondary outcome was the analysis of the canal filling quality. Differences in the proportion of treatment success was calculated based on 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and with the Miettinen and Nurminen method in the intention-to-treat population, considering a -20% of the non-inferiority limit. RESULTS: From 104 randomized teeth, 102 were followed up after 24 months (attrition rate of 1.9%). The success rate of teeth treated with the GP paste was 86.8% (95% CI: 69.9-94.9) and 78.4% (95% CI: 61.8-89.1) with the CaOH/Iodof paste. Consequently, a non-inferiority of the GP paste was observed when compared to the CaOH/Iodof paste (P < .001). CONCLUSION: The GP paste has a non-inferior success rate than the CaOH/Iodof paste used as filling material for pulpectomy in primary teeth.

Use of artificial primary teeth for endodontic laboratory research: experiments related to canal length determination.

BACKGROUND: Due to the scarcity of exfoliated/extracted human primary teeth with complete roots, artificial teeth were developed as an alternative to be used for educational and laboratory research purposes. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using artificial primary teeth for conducting laboratory research through an experiment related to canal length determination, comparing artificial teeth with natural teeth. METHODS: Thirty anterior and 21 posterior artificial teeth, and the same number of natural primary teeth were selected. After preparing the access cavity, the root canal length was determined by two examiners twice using three different methods: radiography and two electronic apex locators. Then, the actual root canal length was measured by inserting a K-file up to the apical foramen (reference standard). Accuracy was calculated using Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility was also calculated using the ICC. RESULTS: The methods using the electronic apex locators showed better accuracy in both artificial and natural teeth. Trends observed with artificial primary teeth were similar to those observed with natural teeth, except for the results in artificial anterior teeth. CONCLUSIONS: The model of artificial teeth might be a good alternative for educational purposes; however, improvements are necessary to employ these teeth for research purposes when considering experiments for canal length determination.