Analysis of clinical associated factors of vertical root fracture cases found in endodontic surgery
• Early diagnosis of vertical root fracture (VRF) has been a
great challenge. Since there is no single specific etiology identified, prevention of VRFs in
endodontically treated teeth is quite difficult. The study aimed to evaluate the clinical associated
factors of VRFs.
• Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study of medical charts was conducted
in the Department of Endodontics of Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan from January
2012 to July 2018. Logistic regression model was performed to determine the association between
VRF and its clinical associated factors, inclusive of the tooth characteristics (age,
gender and tooth type) and iatrogenic risk factors (history of root canal treatment, restoration
and post).
• Results: A total of 359 teeth were included in the study. The prevalence of VRF on a tooth basis
was 18.7%. The result showed that age of more than 50 years (adjusted ORZ3.20, 95% CI: 1.81
e5.64, p < 0.001) had significant higher risk of VRFs than those of less than 50 years. The subjects
of molars (adjusted ORZ4.31; 95%CIZ2.24e8.27; P value < 0.001) and premolars
(adjusted ORZ2.61; 95%CIZ1.16e5.86; P valueZ0.021) had significant higher risk of VRFs
than those of incisors.
However, other variables such as gender, history of root canal treatment,
restoration and post had no significant association with the VRF.
