The Precision of Propex Pixi with Different Instruments and Coronal Preflaring Procedures

Area of Science:

• Endodontics
• Dental materials science

Background:

• Accurate determination of root canal working length is crucial for successful endodontic treatment.
• Electronic apex locators (EALs) are widely used to measure canal length, but their accuracy can be influenced by various factors.
• The Propex Pixi is an electronic apex locator whose precision requires evaluation under different clinical conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy of the Propex Pixi electronic apex locator.
• To investigate the influence of coronal preflaring on Propex Pixi accuracy.
• To evaluate the impact of different file alloys (stainless steel and nickel-titanium) and sizes on the instrument's performance.

Main Methods:

• Extracted human teeth were used to establish actual working length (WL) with a dental microscope.
• Propex Pixi was employed to measure electronic length (EL) to the root apex.
• Measurements were taken using various file alloys and sizes, both before and after coronal preflaring.
• Statistical analysis utilized factorial analysis of variance.

Main Results:

• Coronal preflaring significantly improved the accuracy of electronic length measurements (EL closer to WL).
• A strong intraclass correlation was found between electronic and actual working lengths.
• No significant differences in accuracy were observed based on file alloy or size.

Conclusions:

• The Propex Pixi demonstrated adequate precision for determining root canal length.
• Coronal preflaring procedures enhance the accuracy of the Propex Pixi, irrespective of the instrument type or apical fit.
• These findings support the routine use of coronal preflaring to optimize EAL performance.