Incidence of dentinal defects after root canal filling procedures

To compare the incidence of dentinal defects (cracks and craze lines) after root canal preparation, lateral compaction and continuous wave compaction of gutta-percha and AH26 sealer.

Two hundred mandibular premolar teeth were divided into four groups with similar average canal diameters (n=50). One group was left untreated and served as the control. The other three groups were prepared with ProTaper rotary instruments up to size F4. After preparation, one group was left unfilled while two groups were filled with gutta-percha and AH26 using either lateral compaction or the continuous wave technique. Roots were then sectioned at 3, 6 and 9 mm from the apex and inspected under a microscope. The appearance of dentinal defects was noted as well as the minimum and mean remaining dentine thickness. Chi-square tests were performed to compare the incidence of dentinal defects between the groups (α=0.05), and Pearson correlation test was performed to check the correlation between defects and root level or remaining dentine thickness.

The unprepared control group had no dentinal defects. The other groups exhibited significantly more defects than the unprepared group (P<0.05). There was no difference in the incidence of defects between the two filling techniques. There was no correlation between the appearance of defects and level of the root or remaining dentine thickness.

In extracted teeth, dentinal defects were observed in roots filled with gutta-percha and AH26 using the lateral compaction and continuous wave techniques.