A Systematic Review of In Vitro Retrograde Obturation Materials

Abstract

The purpose of this review was two-fold: (a) to determine which retrograde obturation material(s) best prevents dye/ink penetration in vitro; and (b) to determine whether in vitro results agree with in vivo results. A MEDLINE search was conducted to identify in vitro studies published between January 1966 and October, week 4, 2003, conducted on human teeth, and published in English, German, or French language, testing the resistance to retrograde penetration of retrograde filling materials. The MEDLINE search identified 278 published articles. Of those, 115 studies examined the resistance to penetration of various retrograde filling materials, in vitro. Thirty-four studies met all the inclusion and validity criteria. The results indicate that, beyond 10 days in vitro, the most effective retrofilling materials, when measured by dye/ink penetration are: composites>glass ionomer cement>amalgam>orthograde gutta-percha>EBA. The results of these in vitro studies are not congruent with in vivo study results, suggesting a need to re-evaluate the clinical validity and importance of in vitro studies.

Leakage of Bovine Serum Albumin in Root Canals Obturated with Super-EBA and IRM

“…These results agree with the results obtained by Sullivan et al (11) and Fogel et al (14) who had used fluid filtration model and reported no statistical differences between the microleakage with SuperEBA and IRM. Nevertheless, Theodosopoulou and Niederman (26) systematically reviewed studies concerned with retrograde obturation materials evaluated in vitro by dye/ ink penetration method. They reported that SuperEBA cement provided a less effective sealing than IRM and orthograde gutta-percha and sealer after 10 days, based on the linear regression analysis (26).…”

“…Nevertheless, Theodosopoulou and Niederman (26) systematically reviewed studies concerned with retrograde obturation materials evaluated in vitro by dye/ ink penetration method. They reported that SuperEBA cement provided a less effective sealing than IRM and orthograde gutta-percha and sealer after 10 days, based on the linear regression analysis (26). However, in the studies included in the review IRM was examined over a period ranging from 0 to 7 days whereas SuperEBA and orthograde condensed gutta-percha with sealer were examined over periods of time ranging from 0 to 84 days and 0.1 to 180 days, respectively (26).…”

“…They reported that SuperEBA cement provided a less effective sealing than IRM and orthograde gutta-percha and sealer after 10 days, based on the linear regression analysis (26). However, in the studies included in the review IRM was examined over a period ranging from 0 to 7 days whereas SuperEBA and orthograde condensed gutta-percha with sealer were examined over periods of time ranging from 0 to 84 days and 0.1 to 180 days, respectively (26). This could bring into question the conclusion about SuperEBA providing less effective sealing than IRM and orthograde gutta-percha and sealer.…”

Octacalcium Phosphate-Mediated Cement as a Root Canal Filling Material for Primary Teeth

“…Various methods have been employed to assess the sealing ability of materials used for filling root canals [12][13] . An in vitro dye penetration test is usually used as an easy, quantitative method for assessing the leakage of materials used for endodontic filling [14][15] . An India ink solution is a potentially suitable tracer because some carbon particles have relatively similar sizes to bacteria, and thus would show similar degrees of penetration 16 .…”

Self-sealing ability of OCP-mediated cement as a deciduous root canal filling materia

“…Various methods have been employed to assess the sealing ability of materials used for filling root canals [28][29][30] . An in vitro dye penetration test is usually used as an easy, quantitative method for assessing the leakage of materials used for endodontic filling [31][32] . An India ink solution is a potentially suitable tracer because some carbon particles have relatively similar sizes to bacteria, and thus would show similar degrees of penetration 29,33) .…”