A Microcomputed Tomography-Based Comparison of Root Canal Filling Quality following Different Instrumentation and Obturation Techniques

OBJECTIVE With a microcomputed tomography (microCT) imaging device, we aimed to quantitatively evaluate root canal fillings after commonly used endodontic procedures and also tested the suitability of microCT for this purpose. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty single roots were instrumented and obturated with gutta-percha and Tubli-Seal. They were divided into 4 groups of 20. The Hand groups were instrumented with hand files and filled with thermoplastic (Th) compaction and cold lateral (CL) condensation, i.e. Hand-Th and Hand-CL, respectively. The Rot groups, i.e. Rot-Th and Rot-CL, were instrumented with a rotary ProFile system and filled as above. The roots were scanned and 3-dimensional (3D) visualization was obtained. The number, size, percentage of volume and distribution of voids at the filling/dentine interface (i-voids) and voids surrounded by filling material (s-voids) were measured. RESULTS Canal fillings differed significantly with regard to the size of both types of voids and the average number of i-voids. All canals presented a low volume of voids. The highest percentage (0.69%) was found for i-voids in the Hand-CL group, while the lowest volume (0.11% for s-voids and 0.14% for i-voids) was in the Hand-Th canals. Apically, in the last 3 mm, i-voids were observed mainly in the Th groups, and s-voids occurred mostly in the coronal part of the canal filling in all cases. CONCLUSION MicroCT was a useful tool for 3D quantitative evaluations of these root canal fillings. None of the root canal instrumentation and filling methods ensured void-free obturation. CL condensation produced mainly i-voids. With Th compaction, internal s-voids were particularly common, but there were mainly i-voids in the apical part.