Updat Dent. Coll .j 2013; 3(2):13-19
Original Article
Evaluation of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate for Root end Closure of
Nonvital Permanent Teeth with Open Apices
a
b
*Tasnim Wakia , Mohammad Aminul Islam , Mohammad Naser
c
, Md. Shamsul Alam d, Md. Ismail Hossain e
a
Private Practitioner, Dhaka, Bangladesh
FCPS trainee. BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh
c
Dental Surgeon and Endodontist, Dhaka CMH, Bangladesh
d
Professor & Chairman, Dept. of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, BSMMU, Bangladesh
e
Lecturer, Rajshahi Medical College Dental Unit, Bangladesh
b
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article History:
Objective: To evaluate the clinical and radiological outcome of
MTA in nonvital teeth with open apices. Methods: Twenty-five
non-vital teeth with open apices were treated with MTA
apexification procedure. Standard endodontic procedures were
followed and an apical plug of at least 5 mm was created by using
MTA after a calcium hydroxide intra-canal dressing for at least 1
week. Final obturation was done after 24 hours
by vertical
compaction technique using gutta percha. Patients were recalled at
3, 6, 9 and 12 months interval. Clinical outcome was evaluated by
assessing pain, tenderness, mobility and sinus tract. Blind to the
treatment record, two examiners assessed the pre-treatment and
post-treatment radiographs. Each radiograph was scored with the
Periapical Index (PAI) and the size of the apical lesion was
measured. The presence of an apical bridge over MTA was also
noted. Results: Clinically 92% success rate was found whereas
radiologically absolute success rate was 84%. Before treatment the
mean PAI was 3.6 and mean size of the lesion was 3.24 mm. But,
after 12 months follow up, the mean PAI was 1.36 and the mean
lesion size was 0.68 mm.
An apical barrier over MTA was
distinguishable in 5 cases. Conclusion: Apexification using MTA
can be considered as a predictable treatment option than calcium
hydroxide apexification.
Received : 20 October 2012
Accepted : 17 March 2013
Key Words:
Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA)
Nonvital Permanent Teeth
Open Apices
Introduction
The common causes for the interruption of root
development are trauma and caries and the
majority of injuries occur in young individuals
when the root development is incomplete1. The
completion of root development and closure of
*Address of Correspondence:
Dr. Tasnim Wakia. BDS, FCPS
Private Practitioner, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Telephone: 01718-939470
E-mail: dentalheaven@mail.com
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Update Dental College Journal
Vol 3 Issue 2, October-2013
the apex occurs up to 3 years following eruption
of the tooth2. When teeth with incomplete root
formation suffer pulp necrosis, the root
development ceases and apical closure cannot be
achieved. Root canal treatment at this time is a
significant challenge, because of the size of the
canal, the thin and fragile dentine walls and the
large open apex. Apexification is a wellestablished treatment for immature teeth with
necrotic pulp3. Materials used for apexification
are- calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2], bone growth
factor,
collagen,
tricalcium
phosphate,
osteogenic protein-14. Ca(OH)2 pastes have been
considered as the material of choice to induce the
formation of a hard tissue apical barrier. But
apexification with Ca(OH)2 has several
disadvantages such as long treatment period5,
difficulty of the patient’s recall management,
number of radiograph, increase the risk of root
fracture after dressing with Ca(OH)2 for
extended periods6, formation of porous calcified
bridge7 and the prognosis may be compromised
by the placement of a temporary coronal seal8.
Recently, a new material mineral trioxide
aggregate (MTA) has been introduced for
apexification that appears to be a significant
improvement over other materials9.
recorded. The radiographs were examined by
two examiners and recorded in the data
collection sheet. After isolation of teeth with
cotton roll and saliva ejector, a straight line
access cavity was prepared and working length
was determined with radiograph. Then the canal
was debrided with Hedstrom file carefully and
copious irrigation was done with sodium
hypochlorite (2.5%) solution and normal saline
alternatively, followed by dried with sterile paper
points. Ca(OH)2 paste was mixed with glycerin14
and placed into the canal with lentulospiral
followed by temporary restoration.
After one week, temporary coronal restoration
was removed and repeated copious irrigation was
done with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite solution
followed by normal saline to remove all the
Ca(OH)2 paste. Canal was dried with sterile
paper points and if any exudate was noticed,
Ca(OH)2 paste was re-applied for next one week.
A plugger had made manually by heating and
rolling with two Protaper gutta percha to
condense the MTA at the apical area. A
radiograph was taken to confirm that the plugger
was at least 3-4 mm short of the apex. The
ProRoot MTA (Dentsply) was mixed to a thick
creamy consistency with distilled water (3:1) and
delivered into the canal with lentulospiral15. Then
the plugger was inserted in the canal to condense
the MTA at the apex with a thickness of at least
3 mm. Correct placement of MTA at apical 3-4
mm area was confirmed by taking an another
radiograph. A moist cotton pellet was placed
into the chamber and the access was sealed with
zinc oxide eugenol cement. After 24 hours,
hardness of MTA was checked with a condenser
and rest of the canal was sealed with gutta percha
and zinc oxide eugenol sealer in vertical
compaction technique. The access was sealed
using composite resin restoration and a postoperative radiograph was taken.
The advantages of apical plug with MTA are less
treatment time, possibility to restore the tooth
with a minimal delay and thus to prevent the
fracture of the root10. MTA offers a barrier at the
root end that permits vertical condensation of
warm gutta-percha in the remainder of the canal9.
Clinical studies have reported that 77% to 85%
of teeth with open apices healed completely
within1 to 3 years after the placement of MTA
apical plug10-13.
Materials & Methods
25 non-vital teeth with open apices had selected
for the study after clinical and radio-graphical
evaluation. At first visit, patient’s clinical signs
or symptoms and radiographic evidences were
14
MTA effect on root closer
Wakia T et all
Materials
Heating & rolling
Custom made hand plugger
Radiograph before apical
plug
loss; ( 4) Periodontitis with well-defined
radiolucent area; and (5) Severe periodontitis
with exacerbating feature. The diameter of the
lesion size was measured with a millimeter ruler
and the presence or absence of an apical tissue
barrier over the surface of MTA at apex was also
noted. The pre-operative and the post-operative
status were compared and the success or failure
was graded as follows on the basis of the
changes of size of the lesion and/or score of the
PAI10.
Absolute success :Both PAI score and size of the
lesion was decreased significantly.
Relative success : Size of the lesion decrease in
size but PAI was static with previous score
or where there was no change in size of
the lesion but PAI score was decreased.
Relative failure : No change in size of the lesion
but the size was greater than zero (0) mm
with a stable PAI score.
Absolute failure : Either size of the lesion
incresing or PAI score was greater than
previous.
Figure 1:Custom made GP Plugger
Evaluation
For clinical evaluation, the preoperative and post
operative status was compared based on the
presence or absence of pain, tenderness to
palpation or percussion
,
mobility
or
presence/absence of any sinus tract. The
comparative clinical outcome s w ere graded
according to clinical endodontic guideline16 as
followsSuccess :Absence of any pain or abscence of
tenderness to palpation or percussion,
no sinus tract with normal
physiological mobility.
Uncertain : Low grade discomfort after
percussion or palpation with sporadic
vague pain and/or persistant mobility.
Failure :Any signs or symptoms of persistant
pain, predictable discomfort to
percussion or palpation, recurrent sinus
tract or excessive mobility.
Result
Twenty-five nonvital teeth with open apices of
21 patients were treated with MTA apexification
procedure. The mean age of the patients was 15
years (Figure 2). The preoperative and 12 months
clinical follow up data were analyzed with ‘Ztest’ which have shown a significant success rate
of 92% (Table 3). The variables for the clinical
evaluation are shown at Table 1. The PAI scores
of the preoperative and last review radiograph
were analyzed with ‘paired t-test’ (P < 0.0001)
and the mean PAI was reduced to 1.36 from 3.6.
The mean size of the lesion was reduced after 12
months from 3.24mm to 0.68mm (Figure 4) and
significant difference have shown between
preoperative and 12 months follow up visit (t=
4.4945, P<0.0002). In consideration of the PAI
and the size of the lesion (Table 2), 8% cases
have shown relative failure and 92% have shown
For radiological evaluation, two examiners
assessed the pre-treatment and post-treatment
radiographs in a dark room using a magnifier.
The apical area of involved tooth was scored
with the Periapical Index (PAI) 17 which was
catagorized as: (1) Normal periapical structure;
(2) Small changes in bone structures; ( 3)
Changes in bone structure with some mineral
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Vol 3 Issue 2, October-2013
relative success. The absolute success rate was
84% (21 cases).
Table 1: Clinical evaluation (n=25)
5
Variable
Preoperative
(present)
12 months
(Present)
P value
Pain
ytiliboM
ssenredneT
tcart suniS
10(40%)
2(8%)
18(72%)
5(20%)
1(4%)
1(4%)
1(4%)
0(0%)
0.00107 (s)
0.27425 (ns)
0.00(s)
0.00914 (s)
Number of Patient
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
1 1 1
1
1
1
1
1
1
n : Number of tooth
ns : Non-significant
s : Significant
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
0
Age of patient (year)
Figure 2: Distribution of age of the patients.
MTA plug
Obturation
6 months
12 months
Case 3
Case 2
Case 1
Pre-operative
Figure 3: Radiological picture of MTA apexification
Table 2: Correlation between PAI and size of the lesion (n=25)
Size of the lesion ↓(AS)
Size of the lesion =0(RS)
Size of the lesion stable >0 (RF)
Size of the lesion ↑ (AF)
PAI ↓
AS
PAI stable=1
RS
PAI stable >1
RS
PAI ↑
AF
21
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
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MTA effect on root closer
Wakia T et all
AS: Absolute Success, RS: Relative Success
RF: Relative Failure, AF: Absolute Failure
Table 3: Clinical outcome After 12 months follow
up (n=25)
4
3
2
1
0
Mean PAI
Mean
Lesion size
Preoperative
Acceptable
Uncertain
Unacceptable
23
2
0
(92%)
(8%)
(0%)
n: Number of tooth
12 months
follow up
Figure 4: Changes of Mean PAI and
mean lesion size
Discussion
The primary purpose for this clinical study was to
evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes of
the MTA as root-end barrier. In a review study18,
74–100% success rate was found by using
Ca(OH)2 for apical barrier formation. Though
Ca(OH)2 has been used as a material for
apexification procedure from last century, many
researchers have tried with other materials
because of some problems associated with
Ca(OH)2 apexification process such as long-term
treatment and the risk of root fracture6. MTA has
been proposed in experimental studies19-20,
clinical protocols21, clinical cases9,22 and
prospective studies10 as a potential material to
form an apical barrier instead of multiappointment Ca(OH)2 apexification procedure. A
comparative study 23 showed that clinical and
radiographic success rate for MTA was 100%
where 87% with Ca(OH)2. Also the time taken to
complete the treatment and the biological barrier
formation in MTA group was significantly less
from Ca(OH) 2 group but the healing time for
periapical radiolucency was almost identical24.
health and the healing process because it was
considered as the most appropriate of all the
evaluation techniques validated in endodontics17.
When an apical lesion was present, its largest
dimension was recorded. MTA was extruded
beyond apex in 2 cases. In one case having PAI
score 4 and 15 mm lesion reduced to 2 mm at 12
months. Placement of the root filling in a canal
with an open apical foramen carries the risk of
root filling material extrusion. For this reason,
placement of an artificial matrix such as
resorbable collagen, hydroxyapatite and calcium
sulphate are recommended before placing MTA
though no matrix was used in this study25. MTA
place at the cemental limit of the canal showed
better result than over filling19.
A pilot study12 have shown 94.1% clinical success
whereas 76.5% radiologically by using MTA as a
apical barrier . Simon10 have shown healing
occuered in 81% cases with MTA apexification
and an apical barrier over MTA
was
distinguishable in 26% cases where the results are
about similar to the result of this study. On the
other hand, induction of apical hard barrier tissue
formation was found histologically in 100%
sucess rate in a n animal study treated with
MTA20. This difference may be due to limited
thickness of the dentine bridge that was too thin
to be clearly distinguishable radiologically .
Ca(OH)2 was used for approximately 1 week as
In this study, the clinical and radiological
outcome was assessed at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.
At least every 3 months radiographic review is
recommended following completion of treatment
to identify changes in the periapical area12. The
PAI score was used to evaluate the periapical
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Update Dental College Journal
Vol 3 Issue 2, October-2013
an intracanal medicament in this study similar
with other several studies10,11,23. The use of
Ca(OH)2 regarding MTA apical plug is still
controversial. A study26 have shown favorable
result without using Ca(OH)2 where the teeth
were treated directly with MTA apical plug in
one visit whereas another study27 had shown
Ca(OH)2 for 7 days is highly effective in killing
root canal flora. Hasselgren28 demonstrated that
Ca(OH)2 can be effective in dissolving necrotic
pulp tissue but Hachmeister29 showed that
Ca(OH)2 had no significant effect on MTA
leakage or displacement resistance. On the
contrary, Porkaew30 suggested that remnants of
Ca(OH)2 on the canal walls may react to form
calcium carbonate and interfere with the seal
produced. However, recent data suggests that the
combination of MTA and calcium hydroxide in
apexification procedures may favorably influence
the regeneration of the periodontium31.
Conclusion
MTA ha s shown clinical and radiographic
success as an apexification material in necrotic
immature permanent teeth. It may be a suitable
replacement for Ca(OH)2 for the apexification
procedure. However further clinical studies are
recommended.
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