# A Split-Mouth Design Comparison of Guided and Conventional Endodontic Treatments in Calcified Lower Incisors: An In Vivo Pilot Study

## TL;DR

This study compares two endodontic techniques for treating calcified lower incisors and finds that the guided technique is more efficient and causes less damage.

## Contribution

A pilot study introducing a guided endodontic technique for calcified lower incisors, showing reduced substance loss and treatment time.

## Key findings

- Guided endodontic treatment (GET) resulted in significantly less dental substance loss compared to conventional treatment (CET).
- GET had a significantly shorter treatment duration than CET in calcified lower incisors.
- Calcification was consistently located at the third middle part of the root canal in all 14 treated teeth.

## Abstract

Aim: This in vivo pilot study aimed to compare the conventional endodontic technique (CET) to the guided endodontic technique (GET) in lower calcified incisors by focusing on the detection of root canals, the amount of dental substance loss, and treatment duration.

Methods: Seven patients with two calcified lower incisors with a single canal requiring root canal treatment were selected. For each patient, one incisor underwent CET, and the contralateral incisor underwent GET using a customized sleeve. The intracanal space was volumetrically measured using the indirect post-core technique for comparison. The duration was recorded from the start of the treatment until the root canal orifice was detected. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 25.0; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), employing the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < 0.05).

Results: For the 14 treated teeth, the calcification level was presented at the third middle part of the root canal. All 14 teeth had negotiable canals except one, which was treated using the CET. The CET presented a significantly higher intracanal volume (7.8 ± 3.3 mm3 vs. 5.3 ± 1.3 mm3, p = 0.018) and treatment duration compared to the GET (69.0 ± 57.4 minutes vs. 14.1 ± 8.2 minutes; p = 0.018).

Conclusion: GET offers a more predictable and efficient treatment for calcified lower incisors than CET, with significantly less substance loss and shorter treatment duration.