Elsevier

Journal of Endodontics

Volume 31, Issue 12, December 2005, Pages 877-881
Journal of Endodontics

Basic Research—Technology
An In Vitro Model to Investigate Filling of Lateral Canals

https://doi.org/10.1097/01.don.0000164131.46519.d5Get rights and content

Abstract

Aims of this work were to examine lateral canals in extracted teeth, to propose a new technique to produce artificial lateral canals, and to compare two obturation techniques. Cleared roots were examined to record measure and shape of lateral canals. Artificial lateral canals were prepared on human demineralized teeth before final clearing. Specimens were divided in two groups: canals of group 1 were filled with Schilder’s technique, canals of group 2 were filled with vertical compaction with apical backfilling. Stereomicroscopic analysis of lateral canal filling revealed lower filling rates in apical canals compared to coronal ones and higher filling rates with “vertical compaction with apical backfilling” compared to Schilder’s group. The tested procedure appears to be a reliable technique to obtain standardized lateral canals and to compare filling procedures.

Section snippets

Teeth Preparation for Natural Lateral Canals Analysis

There were 102 maxillary (21 central incisors, 20 lateral incisors, 22 canines, nine first premolars, eight second premolars, eight first molars, seven second molars, seven third molars) and 120 mandibular human extracted teeth (21 central incisors, 24 lateral incisors, 19 canines, 16 first premolars, 17 second premolars, nine first molars, seven second molars, seven third molars) selected and provided 330 canals. The root canals had apical orifice diameters from 0.20 to 0.35 mm measured under

Analysis of Natural Lateral Canals

Table 1 summarizes the details of the morphological analysis of natural lateral canals.

Analysis of Artificial Lateral Canals

Scores of artificial lateral canals at different distances from apex are reported in Table 2. No filling (grade 0) was particularly evident in lateral canals close to the apex, at 1 mm (68.3% in group A and 53.3% in group B) and at 2 mm (56.7% in group A and 41.6% in group B), while partial filling with cement (grade 1) was found scattered in the two groups between 8.3% and 45.0%. Complete filling with cement

Discussion

The root canal system has a complex anatomy (29) with fins and lateral canals that may contain bacteria and necrotic tissue debris that are difficult to reach by instruments and irrigants. Few studies were performed to investigate presence, dimension, shape, and localization of lateral canals. Villegas et al. (27) found that 99% of the accessory canals were located within the apical 3 mm, often related to complex anatomy with multiple ramifications and curves less than 0.1 mm in diameter.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Aurelio Valmori for the extensive photographic work. This investigation was supported by PRIN and ex-60% grants of MIUR, Italy.

References (30)

Cited by (41)

  • Ability of gutta-percha and resilon to fill simulated lateral canals by using the Obtura II system

    2012, Journal of Endodontics
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    The flow rate and plasticization of root canal filling materials may influence their ability to penetrate into simulated lateral canals, as shown in previous studies on artificial (11, 14, 18) and natural teeth (5, 12, 13, 19). The amount of filling achieved in the lateral canals of natural teeth has been evaluated by means of radiographs (5, 19) and visual analysis of decalcified and cleared specimens following a protocol described by Venturi et al (12, 16). This protocol allows 3D analysis by rendering the tooth transparent (16, 20, 21).

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