Influence of photostimulable phosphor plate receptor disinfection with peracetic acid on vertical root fracture diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the influence of disinfecting a photostimulable phosphor plate (PSP) receptor with 0.2% peracetic acid on the vertical root fracture (VRF) diagnosis.

METHODS

Baseline radiographs of 20 single-rooted teeth (10 without VRF and 10 with VRF) inserted in an alveolar socket of a human mandible were obtained with an unused PSP receptor of the Express digital system (Instrumentarium Dental Inc., Milwaukee, United States) and a Focus X-ray unit (Instrumentarium, Tuusula, Finland) set at 70 kVp, 7 mA, and an exposure time of 0.125 s. Then, 20 disinfections were performed on the PSP receptor, representing one disinfection cycle. Each disinfection lasted 30 s and the interval between them was 40 min. Subsequently, another 20 radiographs were obtained. This process occurred 9 more times, resulting in 200 disinfections (10 cycles × 20 disinfections) and 220 radiographs ([10 cycles × 20 teeth] + 20 baseline radiographs). All 220 radiographs were assessed independently by 5 examiners for VRF diagnosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were calculated and compared among the number of disinfections by analysis of variance. The significance level was set at 5%. Weighted Kappa test evaluated intra- and inter-examiner agreements.

RESULTS

The disinfections did not affect the AUC, sensitivity and specificity values for VRF diagnosis (P > 0.05). Moreover, the intra- and inter-examiner agreements ranged from moderate to perfect (0.55-1.00) and from fair to moderate (0.22-0.49), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Disinfecting a PSP receptor with 0.2% peracetic acid did not affect the radiographic diagnosis of VRF.