Abstract

FRACASSI, Larissa Dantas; FERRAZ, Eduardo Gomes; ALBERGARIA, Sílvio José  and  SARMENTO, Viviane Almeida. Radiographic comparison of root canals filled with different obturation techniques. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2010, vol.58, n.2, pp. 173-179. ISSN 1981-8637.

OBJETIVE: The objective of this study was to assess and compare three root-filling techniques: Thermafil, Lateral Condensation and Tagger's Hybrid, using three different modalities of radiographic imaging: conventional, digitized and digital. METHODS: Sixty extracted human maxillary central incisors were instrumented and obturated using Thermafil (20 teeth), Lateral Condensation (20 teeth) and Tagger's hybrid techniques (20 teeth). Next, standard conventional (Insigth film - Kodak^®) and digital (DenOptix System - Gendex^®) images of each root were taken in mesiodistal and buccolingual projections. A scanner with a transparency adapter was used to scan the conventional radiographs to obtain digitized images. Obturation quality was subjectively assessed by detecting voids in the three root thirds of the filled teeth. RESULTS: In most cases, Tagger's Hybrid technique presented fewer voids, followed by the Thermafil and Lateral Condensation techniques, in this order. More voids were also seen in the mesiodistal projection than in the buccolingual projection but there were no significant differences (p>0.05). There was moderate agreement among the subjective assessments of the three radiographic modalities (conventional, digitized and digital radiographs) (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Tagger's hybrid technique allowed a more homogeneous filling of the root canal and digital imaging allowed the detection of a greater number of voids.

Keywords : root canal obturation; radiography; radiography dental digital.