Aim: The present study compared the efficacy of digital and conventional radiology for root-canal length measurement.
Methodology: Seventy extracted teeth with pre-served roots were used. Root-canal length measurements were completed with K-Flexofiles (numbers 08, 10 and 15) with conventional and digital radiography using two systems (radiovisiography and photostimulate storage phosphor). All films and sensors were exposed at projections of 0 degrees and 20 degrees to the mesial. The images obtained were evaluated with and without magnification, and analysed using the Cohen's kappa test. The accuracy of the three systems to determine the root-canal length were evaluated by measuring the distance from the tip of the file to the apex.
Results: Most of the values corresponding with the apex occurred with conventional radiology. The digital systems yielded negative values that improved with a size 15 file. The agreement between the two digital systems was the best with size 15 file using 0 degrees projection (66.7%).
Conclusions: Conventional radiology remains the technique of choice in determining the root-canal length; the digital techniques yielded good results for size 15 file.