Morphological Changes of The Root Apex In Anterior Teeth With Periapical Periodontitis: An In-Vivo Study

Introduction: The aim was to analyze the morphological changes of root apex in anterior teeth with periapical periodontitis. Methods: : 32 untreated anterior teeth with periapical periodontitis were enrolled, compared with the healthy contralateral teeth. Cone-beam computed tomography was used to measure diameter of the apical constriction. 3D reconstruction technique was used to reconstruct the teeth, analysis the constriction forms, and measure the distances of constriction to apical foramen and anatomical apex respectively. Results: : The difference value between buccolingual and mesiodistal diameter was (0.06±0.09) mm in periapical periodontitis and (0.04±0.04) mm in healthy teeth (p<0.05). The mean distances between apical constriction and anatomical apex were (0.97±0.25) mm and (1.59±0.48) mm in periapical periodontitis and healthy teeth. The mean distances of apical constriction to apical foramen were (0.39±0.12) mm and (0.70±0.18) mm in periapical periodontitis and healthy teeth. The most common form of apical construction was flaring (65.6%) in periapical periodontitis. Conclusions: : The anterior teeth with periapical periodontitis had shorter distances of apical constriction to anatomical apex and apical foramen, bigger disparities between the diameters of buccolingual and mesiodistal, and higher proportion of flaring apical construction.