Innovations in endodontic filling materials: guttapercha vs Resilon

One of the goals of endodontic treatment is to achieve a complete, tridimensional, hermetic sealing of the root canal system to prevent the entry of microorganisms or their products through both the coronal and apical pathways. Gutta-percha is the most widely used material for root canal filling and despite its numerous properties, such as biocompatibility and thermoplasticity, it has however an important limit: the lack of adhesion to the canal walls. Attempts to address this problem have been made over the years by using endodontic cements capable of bonding to canal dentine but their tendency to resorption in time can compromise the quality of treatment. The first step towards a real adhesive endodontic filling(4) is rather recent; in fact, it goes back to 2003 when, on the occasion of the American Dental Association (ADA) Annual Session, Resilon Research LLC introduced a new canal filling adhesive system based on a thermoplastic synthetic resin material called Resilon™. The real innovation of this system is its capacity of creating a core made of Resilon™ bonded to the cement which adheres to dentine walls previously conditioned with a self-etching primer(4) so no changes in the techniques of canal preparation are required. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of two filling materials (gutta-percha and Resilon) to adapt to the canal anatomy, especially on the apical third, using the continuous wave of condensation technique. Our data suggest that in the third apical the gutta-percha best shows rheological properties that are as important as the bond capability.