The outcome of apical microsurgery using MTA as the root-end filling material: 2- to 6-year follow-up study.

AIM: To evaluate the influence of various predictors on the healing outcome 2-6 years after apical microsurgery (AMS) using MTA as the root-end filling material. METHODOLOGY: A total of 90 anterior teeth with asymptomatic persistent periradicular periodontitis of strictly endodontic origin that failed after either nonsurgical or surgical treatment were included. Surgery was completed under local anaesthesia using a standardized clinical protocol. Clinical and radiographic measures as well as the follow-up period were used to determine the healing outcome. For statistical analysis of the predictors, the outcome was dichotomized into healed cases and nonhealed cases. Odds ratios were calculated, and Pearson chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Clinical and radiographic assessment of AMS revealed that 80% were healed, 14.4% were nonhealed, whilst 5.6% were judged to be uncertain. None of the various predictors investigated had a significant influence on the outcome of AMS. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this clinical study demonstrated that 80% of cases that received apical microsurgery healed when using MTA as the root-end filling material.