2005 Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 66-69
The purpose of the present study was to analyze effective factors including periodontal ligament on vertical root fractures (VRFs) . Eighty maxillary central incisors were assigned to eight groups, depending on master apical file (MAF) size, loading point and existence of a simulated periodontal ligament (PDL) . The gutta-percha in the root canal was vertically pressed with a Co-Cr rod using a universal testing machine. An ordinal logistic analysis was employed to determine significant factors. VRFs were observed in 88.8% of the specimens but no horizontal fractures were found. There were three types of VRFs: partial fracture not involving the apex (PF, 41.3%), partial fracture involving the apex (AF, 40.0%), and complete fracture (CF, 7.5%). MAF size significantly affected VRFs (p<0.05); large MAF size exhibited more partial fractures involving the apex. Loading point and existence of PDL did not affect VRFs.
