Various methods of Gutta-Percha Removal on the apical Seal-an

BACKGROUND: It's often necessary to fabricate a post & core for restoration of an endodontically treated tooth. One of the important step in post & core technique is preparation of post space by removal of gutta-percha from root canal leaving 3 5mm at the apex, so that the apical seal is not disturbed. Objective of this study to evaluate effect of various methods of gutta-percha removal on apical seal which are (1) thermal (heat carrying instrument) (2) mechanical (peeso reamers) & (3) chemical (xylene). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty two freshly extracted central incisors were obturated with gutta percha & sealer using lateral condensation, then teeth were divided into 4 groups according to the method of gutta percha removal for post space preparation. The roots are then painted with enamel varnish immersed into methylene blue dye, sectioned longitudinally and studied under stereomicroscope. RESULTS: Post space prepared with thermal method showed lower mean micro-leakage value of 2.32mm while with mechanical method 2.83mm, highest with chemical method 3.86mm. CONCLUSION: No statistically significant difference between mechanical & thermal methods while more leakage with chemical group.