Diagnóstico radiográfico diferencial das reabsorções radiculares internas e externas entre especialistas em endodontia e clínicos gerais Differential radiographic diagnosis of internal and external root resorptions between endodontic specialists and general practitioners

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of endodontists and general practioners to perform the differential radiographic diagnosis between internal and external root resorptions, using digitized periapical radiographs. Methods: Thirty periapical ra-diographic images of external and internal resorption were selected. The evaluators were comprised of 15 en-dodontists and 29 general practitioners who answered a questionnaire with the following question: “What type of resorption in the following radiographics do you diag-nose?” (1) Inflammatory external root resorption. (2) In-ternal root resorption. Statistical analysis was performed based on the Mann-Whitney test, with significance level of 5%. Results: There was no statistically significant dif-ference in the percentage of correct answers from spe-cialists in endodontics and general practitioners. Con-clusions: Both groups demonstrated satisfactory skill in the radiographic interpretation of internal and external resorption and there was a higher percentage of correct diagnosis of internal resorption than the external. Key words: Endodontics. Diagnostic imaging. Root re-sorption.