Browsing by Author "Parks, Edwin T. (Edwin Thomas), 1955-"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An in vitro comparison of working length accuracy between a digital system and conventional film when vertical angulation of the object is variable
    (2009) Christensen, Shane R. (Robert), 1977-; Vail, Mychel Macapagal, 1969-; Legan, Joseph J.; Parks, Edwin T. (Edwin Thomas), 1955-; Zunt, Susan L., 1951-; Spolnik, Kenneth Jacob, 1950-
    Accurate determination of working length during endodontic therapy is critical in achieving a predictable and successful outcome. Working length is determined by the use of electronic apex locators, tactile perception, knowledge of average tooth lengths and dental radiography. Due to the increasing use of digital radiography in clinical practice, a comparison with conventional film in working length determination is justified. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference between Schick digital radiography and Kodak Ultra-speed film in the accurate determination of working lengths when vertical angulation of the object is variable. Twelve teeth with #15 K-flex files at varying known lengths from the anatomical apex were mounted in a resin-plaster mix to simulate bone density. A mounting jig for the standardization of projection geometries allowed for exact changes in vertical angulation as it related to the object (tooth) and the film/sensor. Each tooth was imaged using Schick CDR and Kodak Ultra-speed film at varying angles with a consistent source-film distance and exposure time. Four dental professionals examined the images and films independently and measured the distance from the tip of the file to radiographic apex and recorded their results. The error in working length was calculated as the observed value minus the known working length for each tooth type. A mixed-effects, full-factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used to model the error in working length. Included in the ANOVA model were fixed effects for type of image, vertical angulation, and the interaction of angle and film type. Tooth type and examiner were included in the model as random effects assuming a compound symmetry covariance structure. The repeatability of each examiner, for each film type, was assessed by estimating the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The ICC was determined when 12 randomly selected images and radiographs were reevaluated 10 days after initial measurements. The repeatability of each examiner for Schick CDR was good with ICCs ranging from 0.67 to 1.0. Repeatability for the conventional film was poor with ICCs varying from -0.29 to 0.55. We found the error in the working length was not significantly different between film types (p = 0.402). After adjusting for angle, we found that error in the working length from the digital image was only 0.02 mm greater (95-percent CI: -0.03, 0.06) than the conventional film. Furthermore, there was not a significant difference among the angles (p = 0.246) nor in the interaction of image type with angle (p = 0.149). Based on the results of our study, we conclude that there is not a statistically significant difference in determining working length between Schick CDR and Kodak Ektaspeed film when vertical angulation is modified.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An in-vitro comparison of working length determination between a digital system and conventional film when source-film/sensor distance and exposure time are modified
    (2009) Ley, Paul J. (Joseph), 1980-; Vail, Mychel Macapagal, 1969-; Parks, Edwin T. (Edwin Thomas), 1955-; Spolnik, Kenneth Jacob, 1950-; Legan, Joseph J.; Zunt, Susan L., 1951-
    Accurate determination of working length during endodontic therapy is a crucial step in achieving a predictable outcome. This is determined by the use of electronic apex locators, tactile perception, and knowledge of average tooth lengths and/or dental radiography whether digital or conventional is utilized. It is the aim of this study to determine if there is a difference between Schick digital radiography and Kodak Insight conventional film in accurately determining working lengths when modifying exposure time and source-film/sensor distance. Twelve teeth with size 15 K-flex files at varying known lengths from the anatomical apex were mounted in a resin-plaster mix to simulate bone density. Each tooth was radiographed while varying the source-film/sensor distance and exposure 122 time. Four dental professionals examined the images and films independently. Ten images and 10 films were selected at random and re-examined to determine each examiner?s repeatability. The error in working length was calculated as the observed value minus the known working length for each tooth type. A mixed-effects, full-factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used to model the error in working length. Included in the ANOVA model were fixed effects for type of image, distance, exposure time, and all two-way and three-way interactions. The repeatability of each examiner for each film type was assessed by estimating the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The repeatability of each examiner on digital film was good with ICCs ranging from 0.67 to 1.0. Repeatability on the conventional film was poor with ICCs varying from -0.29 to 0.55.We found there was an overall difference between the conventional and digital films (p < 0.001). After adjusting for the effects of distance and exposure time, the error in the working length from the digital image was 0.1 mm shorter (95% CI: 0.06, 0.14) than the error in the working length from the film image. There was no difference among distances (p = 0.999) nor exposure time (p = 0.158) for film or images. Based on the results of our study we conclude that although there is a statistically significant difference, there is no clinically significant difference between digital radiography and conventional film when exposure time and source-film/sensor distance are adjusted.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Ridge Dimensional Changes: A Comparative Study of Socket Compression After Dental Extraction with No Compression
    (2013) Bennett, Duane Everett, II, 1984-; Prakasam, Sivaraman; Blanchard, Steven B.; Parks, Edwin T. (Edwin Thomas), 1955-; Ghoneima, Ahmed; John, Vanchit (Vanchit Kurien), 1965-
    Exodontia, or extraction of teeth, has been a well-documented dental treatment that forms one of the foundations of dentistry. The steps associated with extracting teeth have changed little in the last century and these steps are largely part of the dogma of dentistry. One such step is that of socket compression post-extraction. Rationale for socket compression after extraction is manifold. They include: shorter healing times, fewer dry sockets and re-approximating walls that were stretched in the elevation and delivery stages of extractions. The purpose of this study was to determine if post-extraction ridge compression negatively affected alveolar ridge dimensions when compared to sites that are not compressed post-extraction. Secondary outcome measures will identify if socket compression/re-approximation affects the rate of soft tissue closure or occurrence of alveolar osteitis. In this study, 14 subjects were recruited. Eight subjects formed the compression group, while six formed the non-compression group. The subjects in the compression group received compression of their alveolar ridges after extraction to approximate their original pre-extraction width. The subjects in the non-compression group did not receive ridge compression. Each subject had pre-extraction and post-extraction CBCT scans along with post-operative follow up visits at 1, 2, and 4 weeks post-extraction. The present investigation found that with respect to changes in ridge width, sites that were compressed did not lose significantly more dimension than those that were not. With respect to ridge height, sites that were compressed did not lose significantly more dimension than those that were not. Sites that were compressed and sites that were not, healed at approximately the same rate, with respect to soft tissue closure. While the results showed a lack of statistical significance between both groups, there appears to be a trend towards the ridge compression group having a smaller ridge width. Such a trend was not noted with soft tissue closure, thereby invalidating the rationale for socket compression after extraction. One of the limitations of this pilot study is the small sample size. Further validation of these results must be done with a larger sample size in order to provide clinical guidance to dental practitioners.