Influence of gutta-percha points on the filling of simulated lateral canals

The aim of this study was to investigate, in vitro, the percentage of filling of simulated lateral canals in teeth obturated with TP medium and standardized gutta-percha points. Twenty human mandibular canines were prepared with LA Axxess (SybronEndo) and K3 Endo rotary system (SybronEndo) up to a #50 file, according to the Free Tip Preparation Technique. During instrumentation, the root canals were alternately irrigated with 1% sodium hypochlorite and 17% EDTA. Six artificial lateral canals were prepared at the apical third of each tooth. Then, the teeth were assigned to two groups (n=10): Group 1 - filled with TP medium master gutta-percha points (Dentsply, Mailleffer); Group 2 - filled with standardized master gutta-percha points (Dentsply, Mailleffer). Root canal filling was complemented with AH Plus sealer (Dentsply, Mailleffer) and accessory gutta-percha points (Dentsply, Mailleffer), according to the classic technique. The teeth were radiographed and the images obtained were digitized. Linear measurements of the percentage of filling of the artificial lateral canals in each group were accomplished on the Image Tool 2.02 software. Statistical analysis of the data using Mann-Whitney U non-parametric test evidenced significant difference (p<0.01) between the experimental groups. The group obturated with TP medium points yielded higher percentage of filling of the lateral canals. It may be concluded that the use of master gutta-percha points with larger taper resulted in better filling of the simulated lateral canals, as compared to the use of standardized master gutta-percha points.