HERCULANO, L. B.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/3594655889053996; HERCULANO, Luana Bento.
Resumo:
The endodontic treatment in primary teeth resulting from carious or traumatic injuries with
pulp involvement is often necessary in pediatric dentistry. However, this technique may be
hampered by the internal anatomical characteristics of this dentition and the shape, dimension
and position of the root apex, always altered by physiological rhizolysis. The use of
radiography is considered as the main tool for endodontic treatment. However, the accuracy in
determining the working length is hampered by the anatomical variations of the deciduous
elements, overlaps and errors of technique and projection. These factors stimulated the
development of the electronic apical locators that measure the root canal length, being able to
locate the position of the apical constriction with greater precision. Therefore, the purpose of
the present study was to compare in vivo the measures of working length in deciduous teeth
and to concomitantly evaluate the behavior of the patient through the Modified Frankl
Behavioral Scale during the use of the electronic apical locator (Joypex 5 - Denjoy ®, China)
and conventional radiography.The sample consisted of 30 ducts from primary molars of
patients attending the Clinical School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Campina
Grande (UFCG), who were under treatment in the department of Pediatric Dentistry II. After
the access preparation, the conduits were irrigated with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite and sterile
saline solution. The ducts were submitted to the two methods of measuring root canal length
(electronic and radiographic), which were compared and measured in efficacy. The samples
were characterized in the "Acceptable", "Short" and "Long" groups depending on the
evaluation standards. The modified Frankl Behavior Scale was applied to evaluate the
behavior of the patients during the two techniques used in the research. The results were
analyzed through a descriptive, univariate analysis, which included the use of frequency
distributions for the variables and in the bivariate analysis Pearson and Student's t correlation
was used, with a confidence interval of 95% (p <0.05 ). There was no statistically significant
difference between the measurements obtained by the evaluated methods (p = 0.45). Pearson's
correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between the electronic measure
and the radiographic measure, which showed a strong correlation (r = +0.86; p = <0.001)
between the groups. The positive behavior was 80% during LAE measurement, whereas
during the radiographic method only 50%. The electronic apical locator in primary teeth
odontometry is safe to determine working length, thus reducing exposure to ionizing radiation
and negative behavior caused by the radiographic method during endodontic treatment.