Intracoronal isolating barriers: effect of location on root leakage and effectiveness of bleaching agents

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of several intracoronal isolating barrier materials to prevent leakage of a bleaching agent into the roots of teeth and to determine whether placement of the barrier material at the cementoenamel junction or below the cementoenamel junction has an effect on the bleaching results of the crowns. Fifty teeth were stained in vitro, and gutta-percha fillings were placed in the root canals. The experimental isolating barriers were placed at the cementoenamel junction or 2 mm below the cementoenamel junction. A walking bleach of Superoxol and sodium perborate was placed in the pulp chamber for three treatments. The roots of the teeth were evaluated for the presence of root decoloration, and the crowns of the teeth were evaluated for bleaching effect. Findings from this study showed a significant difference between gutta-percha alone and gutta-percha with barrier in preventing root decoloration (p less than 0.05). No significant differences were found between the other experimental groups in preventing root decoloration. Placement of an intracoronal isolating barrier material 2 mm below the cementoenamel junction resulted in a more acceptable esthetic bleaching result of the crowns than did placement of barrier material at the cementoenamel junction.