Managing endodontic emergencies

Shaping ability and apical debris extrusion after root canal preparation with rotary or reciprocating instruments: a micro-CT study

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the shaping ability of the TruShape and Reciproc Blue systems and the apical extrusion of debris after root canal instrumentation. The ProTaper Universal system was used as a reference for comparison.

Materials and Methods

Thirty-three mandibular premolars with a single canal were scanned using micro-computed tomography and were matched into 3 groups (n = 11) according to the instrumentation system: TruShape, Reciproc Blue and ProTaper Universal. The teeth were accessed and mounted in an apparatus with agarose gel, which simulated apical resistance provided by the periapical tissue and enabled the collection of apically extruded debris. During root canal preparation, 2.5% sodium hypochlorite was used as an irrigant. The samples were scanned again after instrumentation. The percentage of unprepared area, removed dentin, and volume of apically extruded debris were analyzed. The data were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance and the Tukey test for multiple comparisons at a 5% significance level.

Results

No significant differences in the percentage of unprepared area were observed among the systems (p > 0.05). ProTaper Universal presented a higher percentage of dentin removal than the TruShape and Reciproc Blue systems (p < 0.05). The systems produced similar volumes of apically extruded debris (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

All systems caused apically extruded debris, without any significant differences among them. TruShape, Reciproc Blue, and ProTaper Universal presented similar percentages of unprepared area after root canal instrumentation; however, ProTaper Universal was associated with higher dentin removal than the other systems.

Correlation between the clinically diagnosed inflammatory process and periapical index scores in severely painful endodontically involved teeth

Aim

To assess and correlate three distinct states of severely painful endodontically derived inflammation with their depiction on periapical radiographs using periapical index (PAI) scores.

Methodology

During a period of 15 months, 368 consecutively enrolled patients with suspected endodontic emergency conditions were examined at the University of Zurich, Center of Dental Medicine. Cases with a severely painful (numeric rating scale, NRS‐11 > 6) endodontically involved tooth and a clear pulpal and apical diagnosis (n = 162) were selected (one tooth per patient). Teeth were divided into three groups according to the clinically diagnosed main location of the inflammatory process: level 1: pulp (positive response to cold test), level 2: periodontium (no response to cold without swelling) and level 3: periapical tissues (no response to cold with swelling). Periapical radiographs were obtained using a digital unit and analysed by two calibrated observers. For level 2, which had the highest PAI variance (n = 76), the PAI scores were further scrutinized regarding their dependence on tooth location and the duration of pain. Data were analysed using chi‐squared and non‐parametric tests, alpha = 0.05.

Results

Overall, the PAI scores correlated well with the clinically diagnosed main location of periapical inflammation (Spearman’s rho = 0.5131, P < 0.001), with level 1 having the lowest scores by far (P < 0.001) and level 2 having significantly lower scores compared to level 3 (P < 0.05). However, a PAI score of 5 was found in merely 3 teeth within the entire cohort, and 49% of the teeth in the level 2 group had no radiolucency (PAI < 3). Within level 2, the PAI scores were not dependent on tooth location but were substantially (P < 0.001) higher for teeth which had hurt for more than one week, and for root filled teeth.

Conclusions

For the analysed, severely painful endodontically involved teeth, the clinically diagnosed main location of inflammation was reflected by the periapical index. PAI scores were not significantly influenced by anatomical noise, yet in some cases under‐estimated the clinical situation.

Sodium Hypochlorite Reduces Postoperative Discomfort and Painful Early Failure after Carious Exposure and Direct Pulp Capping-Initial Findings of a Randomized Controlled Trial

In this randomized controlled single-center clinical trial on 96 adult patients with parallel experimental groups (n = 48), the effects of washing a dentin/pulp wound in non-symptomatic teeth with extremely deep caries and pulpal exposure were compared between a 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution and a chemically-inert physiological saline control solution. After the allocated wound lavage, the pulps were capped with a mineral trioxide aggregate, covered by a glass-ionomer/resin liner, and the teeth were immediately restored with a resin-bonded-composite. In this first report, the early events were analyzed: postoperative discomfort (on an NRS-11 scale) at day-3 and -7 after intervention, and the occurrence of unbearable pain causing patients to contact the principal investigator to perform a root canal treatment (pulpectomy) during the first three months. The NaOCl solution caused a highly significant reduction in post-operative discomfort (p = 0.0010 day 3; p = 0.0007 day 7) and early painful failures (p = 0.0008) compared with the control. These novel findings highlight the importance of infection control in teeth with extremely deep carious lesions. Based on these observations, the use of an NaOCl solution to wash the exposed dentin/pulp wound in the vital pulp treatment is highly recommended in order to reduce pain and early failure.

The influence of ProTaper and WaveOne on apically extruded debris: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:

Apically extruded debris produced during root canal preparation can induce postoperative inflammation and subsequent failure of root canal treatment. Therefore, debris production must be reduced to improve the outcome of root canal treatment.

Aim:

This study aimed to provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of root canal treatment by comparing the difference in the amount of apically extruded debris produced during the root canal preparation of extracted human teeth with ProTaper Universal (PTU), ProTaper Next (PTN), and WaveOne (WO).

Materials and Methods:

On March 30, 2017, three researchers searched five electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Cochrane, Science Direct Online, Embase, and Web of Science) with no time limitations. Only articles written in English were retrieved, and 150 articles were obtained. Then, the three researchers independently selected articles in accordance with previously established inclusion and exclusion criteria, and inconsistent results were discussed. Data were analyzed through meta-analysis for standardized mean difference (SMD).

Results:

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to qualitative analysis. Four articles showed that PTU produced higher amounts of apical debris than WO; two articles showed that PTU produced lower amounts of apical debris than WO; and three articles showed that PTN produced lower amounts of apical debris than WO. Moreover, one article demonstrated that PTU produced higher amounts of apical debris than PTN. A meta-analysis showed that PTU and WO did not produce significantly different amounts of apically extruded debris: SMD = −0.26, Z = 0.50 (P > 0.05). PTU produced lower amounts of apically extruded debris than WO: SMD = −4.98, Z = 2.79 (P < 0.05). However, results were significantly heterogeneous among all the included studies (I²= 97%). No significant difference was found between PTU and WO in the amounts of apically extruded debris: SMD = 0.47, Z = 1.06 (P > 0.05).

Conclusion:

Currently available evidence shows that PTN can produce lower amounts of apical debris than WO (P < 0.05). Moreover, the amounts of apically extruded debris produced by PTU and WO are not significantly different (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, given the limited number of studies reviewed, a definitive conclusion cannot be reached.

Apical extrusion of debris in flat-oval root canals after using different instrumentation systems

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount of apically extruded debris in flat-oval root canal systems during cleaning and shaping with different instrumentation systems.

METHODS

Seventy-two mandibular incisors were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 18) according to the instrumentation system to be used: the ProTaper Next rotary system (PTN; Dentsply Tulsa Dental, Tulsa, OK), the WaveOne reciprocating system (WO, Dentsply Tulsa Dental), the Twisted File Adaptive (TFA; SybronEndo, Orange, CA) rotary/reciprocating system, and the Self-Adjusting File (SAF) system (ReDent-Nova, Ra'anana, Israel). Debris extruded during the instrumentation was collected and dried in preweighed Eppendorf tubes. Three consecutive weights were obtained for each tube, and the average was calculated. The data were analyzed using the t test and analysis of variance (Games-Howell test).

RESULTS

The SAF produced significantly more debris compared with the other systems (P < .05). No significant difference was noted amongst the PTN, WO, and TFA (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Regardless of the instrumentation system used, apical extrusion of debris was exhibited at some level, regardless of the instrumentation system used. The SAF was associated with the highest amount of debris extrusion compared with PTN, WO, and TFA.

Trephination for acute pain management

Surgical trephination can and does provide immediate relief of pain, surgical drainage of the infection and related fluids, and in most cases does not require supplementary administration of antibiotics and only minimal amounts of analgesics. This paper outlines the diagnosis and technique of surgical trephination.