Root Surface Temperature Measurement During Root Canal Obturation

Abstract

Prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures exceeding 47°C, which can occur during root canal obturation, can cause damage of both dental and bone tissues. In order to study the temperature distribution on the surface of the tooth root a temperature measuring device with cold-junction compensation is proposed. For in vitro measurement of the temperature distribution on the surface of the tooth, 8 thermocouples placed in direct contact with the cementum of the tooth were used. In order to eliminate the cold-junction temperature variations, the temperature equilibration device and RTD were used. The suggested linear approximation for the thermocouples' conversion function provides a nonlinearity relative error of less than 0.05% for K-type thermocouples and 0.07% for J-type thermocouples over the temperature range from 20 to 60°C.