SPATIAL REPRODUCTION OF THE ROOT-CANAL SYSTEM BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE MICROSCOPY

This study was intended to achieve an accurate spatial reproduction of the root canal system of extracted teeth by magnetic resonance micros copy (MRM), The measurements were performed in a Bruker spectrometer A MX 300 WE (300 MHz, 7T) with microimaging attachment, The data process ing was carried out by a 3D-Fourier analysis and reconstructions were done by the UXNMR (Bruker) software system, The voxel resolution isotr opically reached 98 mu m, so that insights into the interior of teeth on a microscopic level could be obtained. The spatial configuration of the root canal system could be depicted in all parts from crown pulp to even small lateral canals, Within the pulp, tissue differences in i ts tissue texture were ascertained, As the necessary strong magnetic f ields presently are not allowed to be used in people and as the acquis ition of data is costly, the noninvasive MRM technique presently can b e applied only in nonclinical situations.