Evaluation of apical matriks and mineral trioxide aggregate usage in apexification treatment of open apex teeth

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of the apical plug performed by using MTA with or without collagen sponge in immature anterior maxillary teeth with necrotic pulp. Apexification treatments of 20 upper incisor teeth from 18 patients and their clinical outcomes of 12-month follow-up were included in this study. The teeth were divided into 2 groups with 10 cases in each group according to the apexification protocol: Group 1; apical plug with MTA, Group 2; collagen sponge and apical plug with MTA. The artificial apical barrier approximately 4-mm-thick was created with MTA in each group. Based on clinical and radiographic criteria, the outcome was assessed using the periapical index (PAI) by 2 calibrated investigators. 3 of the 6 teeth (%50) in Group 1 and 5 of the 8 teeth (%62.5) in Group 2 healed at the 12-month follow-up. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups at the post-treatment PAI scores. According to the obtained data, using collagen as an apical matrix in apexification treatments could be recommended.