In vitro Evaluation der lateralen Guttapercha-Kondensationstechnik mit Fingerspreadern verschiedener Spitzengeometrie.

Aim of the study: The purpose of this study was to compare the obturation quality of root canal fillings condensed laterally by different spreaders and done in canals shaped to different tapers. A regular spreader of size #30 was modified by cutting of the tip and producing a tip with the functionality of a plugger. Material&Method: A total of n=75 human straight teeth roots were divided to groups of 15 each and prepared using rotating Ni/Ti instruments to ISO 50 and tapers of 0,02 and 0,04 and 0,06. The roots were filled using a lateral condensation using regular spreaders "pointed" and modified spreaders "flat tip". The roots were blinded and coated with nail varnish except 1mm above the apex. After immersion in methylene blue, five sections of 0,8 mm step length were done in the apical region. All cuts were digitised. Penetration depth and penetration degree around the root filling were calculated. Results were compared using MANOVA and a significance level of p=0,05. Results: There was a significant influence of spreader type (p=0,03) and taper (p=0,006) on penetration degree. Conclusions: The quality of root canal obturation depends on the shape of the spreader. The modified spreader produced a significant lower obturation quality compared to the pointed instrument. For lateral condensation technique a preparation taper of 0,04 results in better obturation quality.