Introduction:

The correct determination of working length is one of the main determining factors for the success of endodontic treatments. Objective: to assess the accuracy when determining the working length of an electronic apex locator.

Objective:

To assess the accuracy of the determination of the working length of an electronic apex locator in monoradicular teeth.

Material and methods:

An exploratory experimental study was carried out in vivo where the working length was taken in 141 monoradicular root canals of patients with indication of extraction. Working length was determined using iPex II electronic apex locator (NSK). When the locator marked that the file was at the apex, without removing the instrument from the duct, it was fixed. The extraction was performed with caution and subsequently a proximal wall of the apical third was worn down until the file was observed inside the duct, observed and studied with the help of a magnifying glass. The working length was acceptable when the locator determined that it was between 0.5-1.5 mm of the cement-dentin-duct limit; short when it was more than 1.5 mm and long when it was observed that it exceeded the cement-dentine-duct limit.

Results:

The accuracy of 95.7 % (135) of the measurements was acceptable and only 13(9.2 %) ducts had instability, with an existing relationship between the accuracy and instability of the measurements. It was observed that 88(62.4 %) ducts with secretions obtained an acceptable one in the determination of the length of work. Only 3 (2.1 %) ducts with secretions had short measurements. The presence of secretions was not significant to assess the accuracy.

Conclusions:

The measurements of the working lengths using the locator studied were, almost entirely, of acceptable precision and were practically unstable. Similarly, the presence of secretions inside the root canals did not significantly affect the accuracy of the localizer in question.

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