Completeness of root canal obturations: Epiphany techniques versus gutta-percha techniques

This project was designed to determine how a new resin based obturation material compared with traditional gutta-percha techniques in its ability to fill the prepared root canal space. Eighty single-rooted palatal and distal roots of extracted human first molars were used. The root canals were instrumented with hand and rotary files and divided into four groups. Gutta-percha and the new resin based material was used with lateral condensation or continuous wave obturation. The roots were sectioned at 1, 3, and 5 mm from the apex and examined under magnification. Using a computer program, the surface areas of voids were calculated and compared. The gutta-percha, lateral condensation method was the only group that demonstrated significantly more voids. There were no statistically significant differences among any of the other three groups.