Quality of root canal fillings on periapical radiographs

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to radiographically evaluate the presence or absence of failures in endodontic fillings performed at the Faculty of Dentistry of Pernambuco FOP/UPE. A total of 1091 periapical radiographs of teeth treated endodontically in the last two years were selected. The radiographs were observed by three professors who are specialists in endodontics. Radiographs with teeth submitted to apicoectomy surgery, radiographs of the posterior teeth (premolars and molars), teeth with incomplete rhizogenesis, presence of impacted teeth, and total edentulous teeth in the anterior region were considered inappropriate, and treated canals were considered those containing radiopaque material in the pulp cavity or inside the root canal. The collected data were quantified and submitted to statistical analysis. A large percentage of radiographs with teeth treated endodontically and the presence of periapical lesions (51.6%) and slightly fewer teeth treated without lesions (48.4) were observed. When comparing the presence of periapical lesion with the longitudinal limit of filling and the homogeneity of the material, they present better results. At the end of this study, it was possible to observe a statistically significant relationship between unsatisfactory endodontic treatments and periapical lesions.