Objective: To evaluate the ability of apex locators as a tool in determining working length in comparison to traditional working length radiographs in general dental practice.
Design: Randomised controlled clinical trial.
Setting: General dental practices in the North West of England.Subjects Adults requiring root canal treatment of at least one tooth with minimal or moderate difficulty.
Intervention: Root canal treatment was carried out with the working length determined by apex locator in the treatment group (AL), and periapical radiograph in the control group (PA).
Outcome measure: The acceptability of the master cone gutta percha measured from a radiograph before obturation was used as the primary outcome.
Results: Twenty-one of 23 fillings in the AL group were judged as acceptable, compared to 17 of 23 fillings in the PA group. This difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: In general dental practice, no significant difference was found in working length determined using apex locator combined with a master cone GP radiograph or using the conventional method. There is a need for larger trials to investigate these methods further.