Journal of Dental Medicine

Statement of Problem: The main objective of endodontic therapy is chemomechanical cleansing of entire pulp cavity and its complete obturation with an inert material. During this procedure, the failure of detection and inadequate cleaning of a canal will result in failed endodontic therapy. Therefore, the dentist must have enough knowledge of root canal morphology to treat a tooth successfully.
Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the number and type of root canals of mandibular incisor teeth.
Materials and Methods: In order to do this in-vitro, descriptive study, 68 non-carious mandibular incisor teethj collected from different clinics in Yazd, were immersed in indian ink, decalcified and cleared.

Results: It was found that 55.9% of the teeth had two separate canals that in 5.5% of them, the canals merged before' apical foramen. In 4.4% of these samples, two separate canals existed along the whole root.
Conclusion: Considering high percentage of two canals in lower mandibular incisors, during access preparation, more attempts in detection of the second canal, is emphasized.

Background and Aim: External apical root resorption is a common iatrogenic consequence of orthodontic treatment. Much controversy exists in the literature about changes in root lengths at post treatment periods. Although many practitioners believe that resorption becomes stable after active treatment, quantitative data are scarce. The purpose of this study was to determine quantitative changes in root lengths of maxillary incisors during fixed orthodontic post treatment period, and to assess if it is influenced by gender and factors related to active treatment.

Materials and Methods: This was a case cross over study, performed on 80 patients (52 females and 28 males) aged between 13 and 22 years. At debonding stage and beginning of retention phase of fixed orthodontic treatment, Hawley type retainer was fabricated for maxillary arch. Periapical radiographs of maxillary incisors using standard parallel technique were obtained immediately after debonding, and 3 and 7 months later. Crown and root lengths of maxillary incisors were measured using computer program. Changes in root lengths were calculated considering correction factors. Also associations between some factors and the change in root lengths during post treatment periods were assessed. These included gender, type of treatment plan (non extraction/extraction), technique (standard edgewise/straight-wire edgewise) and duration of active treatment (less than 2 years/2 years and more). T-test and 4-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis with P0.05 as the limit of significance.

Results: No significant relation was found between apical root resorption of maxillary central incisors and time elapsed after treatment. Significant relation was observed between apical root resorption of maxillary lateral incisors and the length of post treatment period. No significant relation was found between root length changes of maxillary incisors during post treatment period and gender, type of treatment plan, technique, and the length of active treatment period (P 0.05).

Conclusion: Considering the general process of root length reduction in maxillary lateral incisors during post treatment period, establishment of preventive measures is emphasized.

Background and Aim: As central incisors have a prominent role in esthetics, appropriate preparation, considering natural tooth anatomy and proper planes have always been considered. The aim of this study was to determine the number of planes in labial surface of maxillary central incisors using image processing and mathematical analysis.

Materials and Methods: This pilot study was performed on 32 intact maxillary central incisors in dental students of Tehran university of medical sciences. Photographs were taken from profile view of each tooth by a digital camera. Images were processed and number of planes was obtained using SigmaScan Pro. version 5.00 software and a customized program. Data were analyzed by t-test and regression tests with p<0.05 as the level of significance.

Results: 96.9% of central incisors had three planes and 3.1% had two planes in labial surface. The angle between middle-cervical and middle-incisal planes showed statistically significant difference (p< 0.01).

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, a few percentage of maxillary central incisors had two planes and most of them had three planes in their labial surfaces. Thus, considering three planes for restoring maxillary central teeth is closer to principles of tooth preparation and esthetics.