Malligai Dental Academy
Malligai Dental Academy
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Obturation Techniques

05.06.23 10:01 AM By Major Dr Pravin

What is Obturation ?

Obturation is the method used to fill and seal a cleaned and shaped root canal using a root canal sealer and Core material 

Purpose of obturation ?

  • To achieve three dimensional fluid tight seal of the root canal
  •     To prevent bacterial micro leakage
  • To achieve total obliteration of root canal space so as to prevent ingress of bacteria and body fluids into the canal
  • To replace the empty root canal space with an inert filling material to prevent recurrent infection 

Criteria for Obturation :

  1. The canal should be reasonably dry with no weeping of fluids such as serous discharges or blood.
  2. When patient is without sensitivity to percussion
  3. Teeth with no periradicular radiolucency
  4. After optimal cleaning and shaping is achieved.

Techniques of Obturation :

  •  Cold lateral compaction
  •   Warm compaction

                           1.  Vertical

                           2. Lateral

  • Continuous Wave Compaction
  • Thermoplasticized gutta percha injection
  • Carrier based gutta percha

                            1. Thermafil thermoplasticized

                            2. Simplifil sectional obturation

  • Mcspadden thermo-mechanical compaction
  • Chemically plasticized gutta percha
  •  Custom cone 

Cold lateral compaction

Provides for length control during compaction

Disadvantage :

  • May not fill the canal irregularities as well as warm vertical or thermoplasticized techniques.
  • Not able to achieve three dimensional seal by  it doesn’t produce a homogenous mass.

Warm Vertical Compaction

  •  By Schiller Method of 3 dimensional filling of the radicukar space .
  • Preparing the canal with continuously tapering funnel and keeping the apical foramen as small as possible.
  •  One applies pressure in vertical direction to the heat softened gutta percha And thereby causing it to flow and fill the lumen of the canal.

Schilder's Objectives :

Continuous tapering funnel should be present from root canal orifice to root apex.  The preparation should be such that it flows with the shape of the original canal. The shape and size of the apical foramen should not be changed.  Apical foramen should be kept as small as practically possoble to prevent excess flow of  excess material

Disadvantage :

  1. Amount if time it takes
  2. Risk of vertical root fracture from undue force

Warm Lateral Compaction

This provides strength during obturation. 

  •  Placement of master cone and lateral compaction using heat carriers such as Endotec II and Endotwinn tips.
  •  The device is placed beside master cone and activated followed by placement of unheated spreader in the space previously occupied by heat carrier.
  • Accessory cones are then placed and the process repeated till the canal is filled.

Continuous Wave Compaction

  • This is a variation of warm vertical compaction technique
  • Introduced by Buchanan
  • Employs the use of gutta percha cones and plungers that mimic the tapered  preparation,  thereby permitting the application of greater hydraulic force during vertical compaction. 

Thermoplasticized gutta percha Injection Techniques

  • This technique comprises  a pressure apparatus consisting of an electrically heated syringe barrel and selection of needles ranging from 18 to 25 gauge
  • The plugger is designed to prevent back flow of gutta percha
  • The degree of heat is adjusted to prevent extrusion of gutta percha according to size of needle
  • Example : Obture III (OBTURA SPARTAN) – Temperature-200 degree cel.
  • Limitations: lack of precision, voids in the final set filling 

Mscpaden Thermomechanical Compaction

  • This method is used to decrease gutta percha viscosity and increase its plasticity.
  •   Gutta percha cones are inserted into the canal short of the root apex and a comparator blade selected according to the width and length of prepared canal
  • The plastic gutta percha moves laterally and apically because of the reverse flutes on comparator blade- push the softened gutta percha forwards and sideways.

Chemically plasticized gutta percha Technique

  • Gutta percha can be plasticized by chemical solutions such as chloroform, eucalyptol,  xylol
  • Can be used in unusually curved canals.

Custom Cone Technique

  • Custom cone technique is a chair side procedure employed for customizing GP in wide angles where traditional master cone cannot be adapted. 

Major Dr Pravin