Endodontic patient recall procedures: a national survey of endodontic practices.

A survey was conducted to measure the extent of patient recall procedures and perceived success and failure in treatment from a sample of endodontists. A comparison to the accepted Quality Assurance Guidelines set forth by the American Association of Endodontists was conducted. Three hundred surveys were mailed to as many active members of the American Association of Endodontics. Two hundred thirty-three responses were returned for a response rate of 77.6%. The only statistically significant finding was that military practitioners in general do not have an active recall system. This was significant at the p < 0.008 level.

National survey of endodontists and selected patient samples: infectious diseases and attitudes toward infection control.

A survey was conducted of 591 patients from endodontic practices located in six large municipalities in the United States. A comparison was made between the self-reported incidence of transmissible diseases from patients medical histories to national statistics for the incidence of hepatitis B, herpes, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. A national survey of 422 endodontists was also conducted. This survey was used to determine the beliefs and attitudes of practicing endodontists toward infection control techniques and infectious diseases. Compared with previous surveys, a trend toward increasing use of the hepatitis B vaccine, gloves, and greater acceptance of medically compromised patients was found.

Unusual palatal root canal morphology in maxillary molars.

Three clinical cases are presented in which the palatal root(s) of human maxillary molars exhibited root canal morphology characterized by multiple canals/roots.

Long-term sealing efficacy of four root surface sealing materials used in endodontic leakage studies.

Fifty extracted human maxillary anterior teeth were biomechanically instrumented and divided into five equal groups, four experimental and a control. The teeth in the experimental groups had their root surface coated with one of four sealants; epoxy, casting resin, sticky wax, or nail polish. The roots of the remaining teeth were not coated and served as controls. All of the teeth were mounted in the caps of scintillation vials. Five microliters of [3H]uridine were deposited in the root canal space and disintegration counts were obtained over time periods of 1, 4, 8, 12, and 36 wk. At the conclusion of the experiment, sticky wax was demonstrated to provide a superior seal (p < 0.0001).

A comparison of four root canal obturation methods employing gutta-percha: a computerized analysis of the internal structure.

The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the internal structure of gutta-percha for presence/absence of empty spaces when used in four different obturation methods: thermoplastic, chloroform-softened, thermomechanical, and warm lateral condensations. Each obturation was performed five times in a metal mold representing a root canal system. Following obturation the mold was disassembled and the gutta-percha was freeze-fractured at the 1.0, 3.5, and 6.5 mm levels as measured from the tip of the obturations. The fractured gutta-percha was placed in a scanning electron microscope, the image transferred to a computer, and converted to digital data. The results were subjected to statistical evaluation. The results demonstrated no difference between the obturation methods at the 1 mm level, however at the 3.5 mm level, thermomechanical condensation produced an internal structure characterized by a greater number of empty spaces (p < 0.0007). At the 6.5 mm level, thermomechanical condensation differed only from the chloroform-softened gutta-percha (p < 0.01).

Sealing efficacy of a zinc oxide-eugenol cement, a cyanoacrylate, and a cavity varnish used as root canal cements.

Forty single-rooted human central incisor teeth were biomechanically instrumented. Thirty teeth were divided into three groups of 10 and obturated with laterally condensed gutta-percha and one of three cementing mediums. These were zinc oxide-eugenol root canal cement, cyanoacrylate, and cavity varnish. The remaining 10 teeth were not obturated and served as a control. All of the teeth were suspended in a 1% methylene blue dye for 1 wk. Following sectioning the apical dye penetration was measured, and the leakage values were subjected to statistical analysis. The results showed that the teeth obturated with zinc oxide-eugenol and cyanoacrylate, in conjunction with gutta-percha, exhibited less leakage than the cavity varnish and control groups. This finding was statistically significant (p less than 0.0001). There was, however, no significant difference detected between the zinc oxide-eugenol and cyanoacrylate groups.

Apical sealing efficacy of two reverse filling techniques versus cold-burnished Gutta-percha.

The apical seal produced by the cold-burnished gutta-percha method and two amalgam reverse filling techniques was investigated in an in vitro study using 36 extracted human single-rooted teeth. Following root canal obturation, 27 teeth were divided into three experimental groups and each group was subjected to one of the three following filling techniques: (a) cold-burnishing of gutta-percha; (b) amalgam reverse filling; and (c) amalgam reverse filling in conjunction with cavity varnish. The remaining nine teeth served as controls (4). The teeth were placed in methylene blue dye for a period of 1 wk, after which they were retrieved, washed, sectioned, and the apical dye penetration measured. The results showed that amalgam with cavity varnish demonstrated less dye penetration than the other experimental groups. The difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.0001).