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Endodontic treatment of necrotic, immature teeth with open apices can present challenges to debridement, disinfection, and optimal obturation. These teeth may have widely flared canals and thin radicular dentinal walls that are susceptible to fracture. Management of the open apex can be performed using a mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) apical plug. To ensure a better prognosis in such structurally compromised teeth, internal radicular reinforcement using fiber posts and a self-adhesive cement has been suggested. The present case report illustrates the management of a necrotic, immature maxillary right central incisor in a 10-year-old patient using the MTA apical barrier technique and canal reinforcement using a fiber post.

In 2012, the School of Oral Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand modified its undergraduateendodontic curriculum which led to a need to assess the impact of curriculum changes on root canal treatmentoutcomes. This study was an audit of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate BDS students using postoperative radiographs, and compared the results between different undergraduate clinical years of study.Postoperative periapical radiographs of patients treated by undergraduate students were examined to assess length, density and taper. Two independent investigators were first calibrated, and thereafter assessed 299 endodontic cases that were performed by third, fourth and fifth year students during the 2013-2015 period at the Wits Oral Health Centre. 68.9%, 73.6% and 70.9% were found for adequate length, acceptable density and acceptable taper of root filling respectively. The most acceptable length, density and taper results were seen in patients treated by final year students, while the lowest results were observed in the fourth year student cohort. There was a tendency for third year students to overfill due to over-instrumentation of anterior teeth.The change in the curriculum has been justified, though room for improvement exists. The superior result found in the 5th year student cohort was most likely due to their relative experience, and the use of rotary instrumentation and dental operating microscopes. Endodontic teaching should further emphasize the importance of length control during endodontic treatment and more stringent steps may be necessary during patient allocation and clinical supervision of fourth year dental students.

AIM: This study compared the transportation and centering ability of ProTaper Next (PTN) and WaveOne Gold (WOG) files in curved permanent teeth using micro-computed tomography (μCΤMETHODOLOGY: Twenty-four molar teeth with curved roots were divided randomly into two equal groups. The root canals of one group was prepared using PTN files, and the other using WOG files. Pre-instrumentation and post-instrumentation imaging were taken for all the teeth. The dentine thickness of the pre-and the post-instrumentation cross sections was measured at eight different points at three levels: 3, 5 and 7mm from the apex, by two dentists using image analysis software. The data were analysed using one-way ANOVA, at a 5% significance levelRESULTS: The transportation in both groups was within the range accepted in the literature. The WOG file exhibited significantly less root canal transportation compared with the PTN file (p=0.001). The WOG file showed a significantly (p