The influence of the smear layer on the sealing ability of canal obturation

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Abstract
Summary. The sealing of obturated root canals which had previously been cleaned chemically by EDTA or mechanically by ultrasound was compared using 60 single‐rooted teeth in an in vitro study. At first, the canals were manually prepared under copious irrigation with NaOCl. Then the specimens were divided into three experimental groups: in group I (control group) the canals were immediately obturated without further preparation; in group II (ultrasound group) the canals were subjected to ultrasound before being obturated, and in group III (EDTA group) the canals were irrigated with EDTA before being obturated. All speciments were then subjected to dye infiltration before being transversely sectioned at various levels from the apex. The amount of leakage was scored on an arbitrary four‐point scale. The results showed some differences in leakage between the three groups at levels close to the apex: EDTA‐treated canals showed the least infiltration, while those treated with ultrasound showed significantly less compared with the control group. The role of the smear layer and its removal is discussed in the light of these results.

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