Abstract
In this study, a new method for examining vertical root fracture was innovated and it was employed to analyze the effects of master apical file size, root canal obturated length and amount of gutta-percha deformation. Root canal-obturated teeth were embedded in acrylic resin and load was applied using a Co〜Cr rod to obturated teeth in the root canal. Fracture mode and load were analyzed using the ranked logistic analysis and 3-way ANOVA, respectively. Vertical root fractures were observed in 88.8% of the specimens, thus this experimental set-up was confirmed to be suitable for vertical root fracture evaluation. Regarding fracture mode, only the interaction between master apical file size and root canal obturated length was significant (p<0.05). Moreover, the greater size of master apical files significantly showed smaller load fracture.
