Objective: The aim of this study on human cadavers was to compare the accuracy of two electronic apex locators (EALs) Dentaport ZX (J. Morita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) and Raypex 6 (VDW, Munich, Germany).
Materials and methods: Twenty-two single rooted teeth of four human cadaver heads were scheduled for this study. Before the extraction, an access cavity was opened and the crown was cut to establish a stable reference point for all measurements. The working length determination was performed with Dentaport ZX and Raypex 6 in the presence or not of 5.25 % sodium hypochlorite (SH) using a k-file 10. The teeth were then extracted and the real working length (RWL) was measured under a stereomicroscope at ×30 magnification. The difference between the two working lengths was calculated: positive values indicate measurements exceeding the foramen, while negative values indicated measurements short of the foramen. The data were analyzed with a t test analysis.
Results: The mean of distances was 0.33 ± 0.20 mm and 0.32 ± 0.2 mm for Dentaport ZX respectively in the presence or not of SH and 0.38 ± 0.20 mm and 0.39 ± 0.19 mm for Raypex 6. No statistical differences were found between the two devices (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: Both apex locators showed a high accuracy in the presence or not of SH.
Clinical relevance: Both electronic apex locators can be recommended for clinical use and their accuracy is not affected by SH.
Keywords: Dentaport ZX; Electronic apex locators; Human cadaver; Raypex 6.