Endodontics · single question
A 12-year-old patient has trauma to tooth #9. Which material is used to fill the canal in a young patient with an open apex?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) or calcium hydroxide
- A. Incorrect. Resilon is an alternative obturation material for formed, closed apices — not appropriate for open-apex management.
- B. Incorrect. Gutta-percha with standard sealers requires a formed, closed apex — not appropriate for immature roots with open apices.
- C. Incorrect. Silver points are obsolete — they corrode and do not provide a hermetic seal.
- D. Correct. For a tooth with an OPEN APEX needing root canal: if the pulp is NECROTIC (apexification scenario), MTA or CALCIUM HYDROXIDE is used to create an apical plug/barrier. MTA is now preferred over calcium hydroxide for apexification as it creates an immediate apical seal. If the pulp is VITAL (apexogenesis), partial pulpotomy is done, but if necrosis has occurred, MTA apexification is the choice.