Success in root canal treatment is achieved after thorough cleaning, shaping, and obturation of the root canal system. This clinical case describes conventional root canal treatment of an unusual mandibular first molar with six root canals. The prognosis for endodontic treatment in teeth with abnormal morphology is unfavorable if the clinician fails to recognize extra root canals.

AIM To assess ex vivo the accuracy of various electronic apex locators in locating the apical terminus of root-end resected teeth. METHODOLOGY Ninety extracted human posterior teeth (182 root canals) were prepared to a minimum size of 40 and filled with gutta-percha and sealer. After resection of the apical 3 mm of the root, the root canal filling was removed using HERO rotary instruments. Th...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of gutta-percha and Resilon in filling lateral root canals by using the Obtura II system. Root canals of artificial teeth were prepared using a standard protocol, and lateral canals were made in three thirds of the root canal. The root canals were filled with either Obtura gutta-percha (OB), Endo-points flow gutta-percha (ED), or Resilon (...

OBJECTIVE Bacterial leakage and root fractures are the most important reasons of root canal treatment failure. Due to the lack of adhesion of gutta percha to the canal walls, Resilon has been introduced as a root-filling material able to bond to the root walls. Metal posts may predispose the tooth walls to oblique and vertical fracture which usually leads to tooth loss; whereas, fiber posts may...

INTRODUCTION The main goal of endodontic therapy is to prevent or heal apical periodontitis. However, root canal anatomy might present a clinical challenge directly related to the treatment outcome. The purpose of this study was to review published literature related to root anatomy and root canal configuration of the permanent mandibular first molar. METHODS An exhaustive search was undertak...

INTRODUCTION This study evaluated the prepared surface areas of oval-shaped canals in distal roots of mandibular molars using four different instrumentation techniques. METHODS Teeth were prescanned and reconstructed using micro-computed tomography (MCT) scans at low resolution (68 microm). Forty-eight molars with ribbon-shaped/oval distal root canals were selected and randomly assigned to fo...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the root and canal morphology of maxillary third molars in Central India population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS CBCT images of 116 maxillary third molars were observed, and data regarding the number of roots, the number of canals, and Vertucci's Classification in each root was statistically evalu...

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to identify the influential factors responsible for clinical instrument separation of reused ProTaper Universal rotary instruments (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). METHODS Six thousand one hundred fifty-four root canals in 2,654 teeth were prepared using ProTaper Universal files in endodontic clinics. Separation incidence was determined...

AIM To monitor chlorine consumption from nonagitated aqueous sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions in human root canals using a recently developed assay, which can determine the order of magnitude of available chlorine in small volumes of liquid. METHODOLOGY The root canals of 80 extracted single-rooted human teeth were instrumented to ProTaper Universal F4 and irrigated using 1% NaOCl. Subse...

OBJECTIVE To establish a new approach for determination of the optimal apical preparation size (APS). STUDY DESIGN After preflaring 212 root canals from 80 extracted molars, electronic working length (WL) was measured to establish where the apical preparation size (APS) should be determined. Subsequently, nontapered, noncutting special instruments were used to reach WL. The diameter of the la...