Fluid transport and bacterial penetration along root canal fillings

Convective transport of water from the coronal to the apical end of obturated root canals was determined by the movement of an air bubble in a capillary glass tube connected to the apex of the experimental root section using a headspace pressure of 120 kPa (1.2 atm). Water transport through existing voids in the obturated canals could be measured reproducibly in this way. The root canals of 60 human maxillary canines were filled with gutta-percha and sealer by the cold lateral condensation technique. Thirty of these were first exposed to a small motile bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, growing in a reservoir at the coronal end of each root. After 50 days, two specimens allowed penetration of bacteria to a reservoir at the apical end. All the roots were then assessed quantitatively for convective transport of water. The results were divided into three defined categories: 39 obturated canals were in the 'bacteria tight' category, 14 canals in the 'slight leakage' and 7 canals in the 'gross leakage' category. The two specimens that showed bacterial penetration fell into the slight and gross leakage categories. The previous test for bacterial passage did not statistically influence the fluid transport pattern of these roots which was measured subsequently. These findings indicate that fluids transport through obturated root canals, most of which do not allow the passage of bacteria.