Thesis submitted for partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master degree in Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University

Abstract

The goal of endodontic treatment is to seal the root canal system from the outside environment to prevent or eliminate microbial infection and preserve the health of periapical tissues. This emphasizes the importance of the properties of obturating material and sealers as it affects the outcome of endodontic treatment. Ideally, the obturating material should be self-adhesive, antimicrobial and biocompatible and should maintain dimension stability through time. One of the currently used filling material is gutta-percha which has good physical and biological properties. Unfortunately, gutta-percha lacks adhesion to the root canal walls, thus using a multiphase technique of gutta percha in conjunction with sealers is mandatory.

Root canal sealer’s main function is to increase adaptation of the root filling material to the canal walls by filling the voids in root canal space and preventing the entrance of bacteria. Therefore, sealers must have good flow and viscosity in order to have good adaptation to filling material and dentine. Moreover, sealers should ideally not only have good bond strength to root canal walls and core material, but also should be antibacterial, biocompatible and insoluble.

According to the chemical composition of the sealers, which are classified into zinc oxide and eugenol (ZOE) based sealers, calcium hydroxide based sealers and glass ionomer based sealers, resin based sealers and nono-sized Bioceramic (BC) sealers. Zinc oxide-eugenol sealers have antimicrobial activity and will resorb if extruded into the periradicular tissues. They exhibit shrinkage on setting, solubility, and they can stain tooth structure. Calciobiotic root