DIFERENCIAS ENTRE LAS MEDIDAS RADIOGRÁFICAS Y ANATÓMICAS EN LA PREPARACIÓN PARA POSTE DE LA RAÍZ DISTAL DE MOLARES INFERIORES.

Objective. To evaluate differences between anatomic and radiographic measurements of the thickness on residual dentin in distal roots of mandibular first molars. Material and method. Thirty mandibular first molar were decoronated. Subsequentlely, the distal root were introduced in an endodontic cube. Roots were sectioned horizontally at a pre-established level and reassembled in an acrylic muffle device. Hand files were used for root canal preparation and Peeso reamers were used for the space preparation for a post to a depth equal to the crown length. To allow the comparison between the thicknesses of the residual radiographic dentin, standardized parallel radiographs (RVG) and digital photographs at the pre-established level were taken during three stages before preparation, after preparation and after enlargement. The thickness of the mesial and distal walls of each root was measured and recorded using imaging software (Imagetool 3.0). Results. The differences were analyzed with paired t-test, showing a highly significant difference (p<0.05) when radiographic and anatomical measurement of mesial wall were compared. The comparison of the measurement in the distal wall did not show any statiscally significant difference. Conclusions. The thickness of the wall of the root canal determined by radiographs was greater than the anatomic measurement in mesial wall, but in the distal wall no significant difference were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]