One important objective of non-surgical root canal treatment is the obturation of the prepared canal to produce an adequate seal.
Objective: To assess and compare obturation density between cold lateral condensation and the “Continuous Wave” of obturation techniques.
Methods: 82 extracted human maxillary and mandibular premolars were randomly distributed between three groups, 40 in each experimental group and 2 negative controls. All teeth were prepared using .04 Profile rotary instrumentation by an experienced operator. Cold lateral condensation was completed using a master cone, 5 accessory cones and a finger spreader, and continuous wave utilized one master cone and one back fill cone with the System B heat source used according to manufacturer’s instructions (Analytic Technology, Redmond, WA). In both experimental groups, half the samples were obturated using a zinc oxide-eugenol based sealer(Roth’s [Roth Drug Co.]), and the other half using an epoxy resin sealer (AH Plus [Dentsply AG, Zurich, Switzerland]). The negative control was prepared and obturated with a single gutta percha cone without sealer. All teeth were radiographed and digital images were made, one straight facial and one angled proximally. All obturations and images were completed by an undergraduate dental student after training in the techniques. All canals were divided into coronal, middle and apical thirds and two experienced endodontists evaluated all samples. Ridit analysis was used to compare ratings for the two obturation methods. Cohen's kappa test was used as a measure of agreement between the two observers.
Results: The two evaluators showed significant but moderate levels of agreement in rating the apical and middle regions. No significant difference was demonstrated for density between the two experimental groups for either region.
Conclusions: In our sample size, using strict experimental conditions, both cold lateral condensation and the "Continuous Wave" condensation techniques produced similar densities in the root canal filling.