An In Vitro Assessment of Gutta-Percha Coating of New Carrier-Based Root Canal Fillings

Abstract EN

The first aim of this paper was to evaluate the push-out bond strength of the gutta-percha coating of Thermafil and GuttaCore and compare it with that of gutta-percha used to coat an experimental hydroxyapatite/polyethylene (HA/PE) obturator.

The second aim was to assess the thickness of gutta-percha around the carriers of GuttaCore and HA/PE obturators using microcomputed tomography (μCT).

Ten (size 30) 1 mm thick samples of each group (Thermafil, GuttaCore, and HA/PE) were prepared.

An orthodontic wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm was attached to the plunger of an Instron machine in order to allow the push-out testing of the gutta-percha coating.

Five samples of (GuttaCore and HA/PE) were scanned using μCT.

The data obtained were analysed with one-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc test.

HA/PE obturators exhibited significantly higher push-out bond strength ( P < 0.001 ) determined at 6.84 ± 0.96 than those of Guttacore around 3.75 ± 0.75 and Thermafil at 1.5 ± 0.63.

GuttaCore demonstrated significantly higher bond strength than Thermafil ( P < 0.001 ).

μCT imaging revealed that the thickness of gutta-percha around the experimental HA/PE carrier was homogeneously distributed.

The bondability and thickness of gutta-percha coating around HA/PE carriers were superior to those of GuttaCore and Thermafil obturators.