apical foramen

Ideally this debridement would terminate exactly at the apical foramen.

When the tool tip touches the top of the tooth, the instrument signals that the apical foramen is reached.

It has terminal blood flow and possesses only small-gauge circulatory access at the apical foramen.

Most infections spread through the apical foramen from the pulp to periapical tissue.

Electronic apex locators have been shown to be more accurate than radiography when determining the position of the apical foramen.

The impedance type apex locators have been demonstrated to be 80 to 95% accurate in identifying the apical foramen.

Cementum on the root ends surrounds the apical foramen and may extend slightly onto the inner wall of the pulp canal.

Apical foramen is the opening of the radicular pulp into the periapical connective tissue.

The radicular portion is continuous with the periapical tissues through the apical foramen or foramina.

In reality determining the exact position of the apical foramen is problematic, requiring radiography and/or use of an electronic apex locator to produce a refined estimate.

Clark-Holke et al. (2003) focused on determining the effect of the smear layer on the magnitude of bacterial penetration through the apical foramen around obturating materials.

In anatomy the apical foramen is the opening at the apex of the root of a tooth, through which the nerve and blood vessels that supply the dental pulp pass.

An electronic apex locator is an electronic device used in endodontics determine the position of the apical foramen and thus determine the length of the root canal space.

These tools are particularly used to clean and shape the root canal, with the concept being to perform complete chemomechanical debridement of the root canal to the length of the apical foramen.

Because the anatomy of this area is very small and complex with several portals of entry to the root canal i.e. more than one apical foramen this may make successful endodontic treatment less likely.

It is suggested that insertion of file or other root canal instrument beyond the apical foramen (for 1-2mm) produces transitory acute inflammation which may destroy epithelial lining of radicular cyst and convert it into granuloma.

When the disease process is of pulpal origin, the pulpal infection and necrosis may drain not only through the apical foramen, but also through an accessory canal, which may present radiographically as a periradicular or furcation radiolucency.