The creation of a homogenous filling within the root canal has always been one of the most sought after objectives in the field of Endodontics. While conventional root canal filling materials have given predictable results, the pursuit of developing alternative sealers or techniques that bond simultaneously to canal wall dentin as well as filling materials has continued. Breakthroughs in dentin adhesive technology in the recent past have built a new generation of bondable root canal sealers and post systems. Thus arose the concept of monoblocs, with its purported advantages of simultaneously improving the seal and fracture resistance of the filled canals. The added advantages of reduced application steps and overall improvements in their user friendliness led to the aggressive marketing of materials claiming to achieve the 'monobloc effect'. On the other hand the credibility of this concept in practice has launched controversial discussions. This review attempts to throw light on the various dimensions of the concept of monoblocs as well as to scrutinize the potential of various root canal filling materials to create monoblocs.
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