Follow-up study of apicoectomized molars.

The present material consists of 46 respected molars, 20 of which were located in the maxilla and 26 in the mandible. Altogether, 93 different roots were resected and 109 root fillings made. The follow-up study was made 1-6 years after the apicoectomy. The patients were examined clinically, special attention being paid to the subjective and objective symptoms shown by each apicoetomized tooth. Then a stereoscopic picture of the resected tooth and an orthopantomogram were taken. Of these 46 apicoectomized teeth, 33 (71%) showed complete healing, five (11%) were uncertain, four (9%) showed unsatisfactory healing, and four (9%) were extracted. When examining molars it seems reasonable to study each root as a separate case. Among the 93 apicoectomized roots, there were 75 (81%) cases of complete healing, six (6%) of uncertain healing, four (4%) of unsatisfactory healing, and eight (9%) extractions. There was no difference between the groups of radicular cysts and periapical granulomas in healing. The percentage of cases of complete healing was higher when approximately one-half of the roots were resected than when approximately one-third were resected. The orthograde root filling made in connection with resection was found better than the retrograde or the earlier orthograde filling. It was also found that when several periapical lesions were present in the other teeth, the number of complete healings in the group of resected teeth was less.