Calcium hydroxide retention in wide root canals with flaring apices

Abstract

Calcium hydroxide (CH) is used to induce apexification in immature, pulpless teeth with wide root canals and flaring apices. Three placement methods of CH were compared in vitro, for their ability to enhance CH retention in the canal. Barium sulfate (BS), added as radiopacifier, was studied for its effects on the radiographic follow up of CH retention, as well as on the ability to detect voids in the CH. Calcium hydroxide filled teeth were kept in phosphate buffered saline-containing tubes in a shaker water bath. Radiographs were taken weekly to follow the retention or loss of the material; they were scanned and stored as digitized images. Quantitative evaluations were done on these images, using a computerized gray scale. Condensed CH was better retained in root canals than either lentulo-placed paste or commercial injected paste. Barium sulfate in the CH paste enabled better detection of voids in the paste filling the canal, however, it obscured the disappearance of CH from the canal, due to a residual radiopacity effect. The results supported (a) condensation of calcium hydroxide as a preferred method that improves its retention in wide root canals, and (b) discontinuing the use of barium sulfate as a radiopacifier in apexification procedures.

Repair of incomplete horizontal mid-root fracture of maxillary central incisor with mineral trioxide aggregate: A follow up report

“…The most important problem with this material is the duration of the therapy, which is from 3-21 months. [12] Recently MTA is gaining more acceptance in alternative approaches. MTA shows less leakage, better antibacterial properties, high marginal adaptation, short setting time (~4 hours), a pH of 12.5 and is more biocompatible.…”

Clinical study on the influence of hydroxyapatite on apexogenesis in monkeys

“…endodontic procedure which attempts to induce apical repair by initiating a hard tissue barrier across an open apex (Yousef, 1988;Yates, 1988; Witherspoon and Ham, 2001). Prognosis for such teeth, even if succesfuly treated, is not as good as the prognosis of fully developed teeth treated by the same procedure (Metzeger et al, 2001). Therefore, in order to enable completion of root growth and development, every effort should be made to preserve the vitality of reversibly affected pulp of non mature teeth, whether the pulp cavum is exposed or not.…”

Biodentine-a novel dentinal substitute for single visit apexification

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