Purpose:
Answer the question: Is the outcome measured by PA and CBCT the same?
Materials/Methods:
Subjects: RCT teeth with pre-operative PARLO
Experimental Design: PA and CBCT taken post-op and at recall. The lesion area was measured in mm squared for PA and lesion volume was measured in mm cubed for CBCT and then compared.
Criteria of evaluation: 4 categories: lesion undetected, decreased, unchanged or enlarged.
Statistically compared with McNemar and chi-squared tests
Results:
- The 4-category diagnosis made using both methods were in agreement in 54.9 % roots, whereas disagreement was observed in 45.1 % roots (P < .001).
- Lesion was absent in 15.5 % roots on CBCT scans and 45.1 % roots on PA (P < .001)
- When success was defined as the absence of a lesion or a reduction in size of a lesion, no statistical difference (P = 0.073) was found between the methods .
Clinical Significance:
Lesion changes after root canal treatments determined with 3D volumetric CBCT data and 2-dimensional PA data were different, and outcome determined with PA could be untrue (This statement is not supported by author’s result).