Evaluation of the accuracy of an electronic apex locator in prototyped deciduous teeth

• Grant number: 24/19090-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Pediatric Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Natalino Lourenço Neto
• Grantee: Tais Siqueira Barbieri
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Dental caries is still the most prevalent disease worldwide, including in deciduous teeth, and can lead to early tooth loss and consequently cause oral health dysfunctions. Therefore, procedures aimed at maintaining the balance of the stomatognathic system are indicated, including pulpectomy. Pulpectomy is recommended in cases of pulp necrosis or dental trauma, and consists of fundamental stages for its success, including the measurement of the correct working length (odontometry). Odontometry in pediatric dentistry is usually carried out using radiography, whether digital or conventional. However, this has certain disadvantages such as overlapping images, distortions, ionizing radiation and increased execution time. In order to overcome these limitations, electronic apical locators were created. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the E-Connect S electronic apex locator in prototyped deciduous teeth and compare it with the visual-tactile and radiographic methods. To this end, 20 prototyped maxillary central incisors will be used, all the teeth will have their canals measured using the three proposed methods, with the visual-tactile method taken as a control. The data will be subjected to statistical analysis and for parametric and non-parametric data, the Student;s t-test and the Mann-Whitney test will be used, respectively, with a significance level of 5%.