EVALUATION OF THREE OBTURATION TECHNIQUES IN THE APICAL PART OF ROOT CANAL

The purpose of endodontic treatment is root canal preparation, irrigation and reliable filling. If this procedure results in quality tooth restoration, then long-term tooth function is guaranteed. All stages of the endodontic treatment process are important, but the final treatment procedure is root canal obturation, in which the dentist discusses the intended purpose. The process of root canal obturation is a time-consuming and costly manipulation. In this process, complete filling of the apical (peak) root is crucial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the quality of canal filling in apical third of root using 3 techniques: lateral condensation, and thermoplastic Gutta Master and Gutta Fussion obturators. The quality of obturation was evaluated on 36 extracted human teeth. Teeth were divided into 3 groups according to the obturation technique (A, B, C study groups). In each group, the roots of the tooth were sectioned by 2 transverse cuts (perpendicular to the long axis) into 3 segments - apical, middle and coronal thirds. A scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study of apical thirds was performed. The SEM study had to identify the gap between material and root dentin, distant from the canal in all three techniques. The extent of the gap was assessed using modified criteria by R. Tanikodas (2016). The study revealed that absolutely no hermetic obturation of the canal system was recorded in any of the study groups. In all cases, microleakage of different degree and localization between the filling material and the canal wall was observed. However, the worst results were revealed in group A, where interphase weakening was the most frequent. Gutta-Master and Gutta-Fussion thermoplastic obturation showed better adhesion to the walls, but the degree of obturation in group C teeth was better than the results in specimens where the canals had been filled with Gutta-Master.