Can apical periodontitis modify systemic levels of inflammatory markers? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated evidence to support whether apical periodontitis (AP) can modify the systemic levels of inflammatory markers (IM) in humans.

Methods: The MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, and PubMed databases were searched between 1948 and 2012, with no language restriction. Additionally, the bibliography of all relevant articles and textbooks were manually searched.

Efficacy of cone-beam computed tomography as a modality to accurately identify the presence of second mesiobuccal canals in maxillary first and second molars: a pilot study.

Introduction: The achievement of successful nonsurgical endodontic therapy relies on the location, disinfection, and obturation of all canals in the root canal system. This study evaluated the ability of the i-CAT cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) unit (Imaging Sciences International, Hatfield, PA) to accurately identify the presence or absence of the second mesiobuccal canal (MB2) in maxillary first and maxillary second human molars.

Methods: Twenty completely intact maxillary first and second molars were used as test subjects.