What’s new for the clinician? - Excerpts from and summaries of recently published papers

Abstract

Choosing an endodontic sealer clinical use is a decision that contributes to the long-term success of non-surgical root canal treatment. Sealers are used as a thin tacky paste which function as a lubricant and luting agent during obturation, allowing the core obturation material, such as gutta-percha points or other rigid materials, to slide in and become fixed in the canal. Sealers can fill voids, lateral canals, and accessory canals where core obturation materials cannot infiltrate. If the sealer does not perform its function, microleakage may cause root canal failure via clinically undetectable passage of bacteria, fluids, molecules or ions between the tooth and restorative material. It has been reported that extrusion of the sealer during root canal filling has cytotoxic effects on periapical tissues, causing periapical inflammation, necrosis and pain. Endodontic sealers are categorized by composition based on setting reaction and composition: zinc oxide eugenol, salicylate, fatty acid, glass ionomer, silicone, epoxy resin, tricalcium silicate, and methacrylate resin sealer systems. Aslan & Özkan (2021) reported on a trial that sought to evaluate the effect of two calcium silicate-based root canal sealers, Endoseal MTA and EndoSequence BC Sealer, on postoperative pain following single-visit root canal treatment on molar teeth compared to their epoxy/ amine resin-based counterpart AH Plus. The null hypotheses tested in this study were as follows:1. The type of sealer used would not change the incidence and the intensity of post-treatment endodontic pain2. The analgesic intake of patients following single-visit root canal treatment