Success rate of apicectomy of anterior and premolar teeth

This study was carried out to assess the success rate of apicectomy of anterior and premolar teeth. Out of 336 patients, who had undergone apicectomy in a private practice between 1997–2001, only 256 patients (76.2%) completed the two years recall visits; which was the minimum time recommended in this study to judge whether the operation was successful or not. The age range of the patients was 12–67 years (mean of 34.7 years), 136 were males and 120 were females. The overall success rate of apicectomy in this study was 89.1%. Sex of the patient had no bearing on the success rate (p > 0.05). Highly significant influence of the patient’s age on the success rate was observed (p < 0.01); the success rate increased proportionally with increased age. Highly significant influence of the type of the apicectomised tooth on the success rate was noted (p < 0.001); upper anterior teeth showed the highest success rate (92.1%), whereas upper premolars showed the lowest success rate (77.4%). Periapical condition of the tooth prior to the operation, preoperative vs postoperative obturation of the root canal, and orthograde obturation vs retrograde obturation were not significant factors affecting the success rate of apicectomy (p > 0.05).