Comparative assessment of a new electronic apex locator and radiographic measurement of root length in primary teeth: An in-vitro study.

Abstract

Background: The success of pulpectomy relies upon exact measurement of root length. Traditionally, radiographs were the main tools for measuring root length; however, they have several limitations. Hence, Electronic apex locators have become popular these days. Aim and objective: To assess the efficiency of Propex Pixi and traditional radiographic method in measuring the root length of single rooted primary teeth. Materials and Methods: Thirty extracted human single rooted primary teeth were selected randomly. In-vivo environment was simulated by inserting tooth sample in alginate and the root length was determined by using Propex Pixi. Secondly, the root length was determined by conventional radiographic method and finally the exact root length was measured by direct visual method. Statistical analysis: The obtained data was assessed using Student paired ‘t’ test, intra-class correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Results: The study showed no significant difference between Propex Pixi and radiographic method(p=0.280). Both the electronic and radiographic methods displayed a high equivalence and compliance R=0.947 and R=0.826 with the actual measurement. Conclusions: Propex Pixi was as effective as radiographic method in measuring the root length of primary teeth. However, regression analysis showed that Propex Pixi can anticipate the exact value with 94.3% accuracy and radiographic method with 67.2% accuracy.