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Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Eur J Dent
DOI: 10.1055/s-0046-1816078
Original Article

Effect of Bioceramic-Based Obturation Techniques on the Amount of Residual Filling Material after Retreatment: An In Vitro Study

Authors

  • Sara Wael Nour

    1   Endodontics Division, Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Misr International University, Cairo, Egypt

  • Abeer Abd Elhakim Elgendy

    2   Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

  • Amr Ahmed Bayoumi

    1   Endodontics Division, Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Misr International University, Cairo, Egypt

  • Kusai Baroudi 

    3   Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
    4   Centre of Medical and Bio-allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
    5   Postrgraduate Program, Department of Dentistry, University of Taubaté, Taubaté, Brazil

  • Mohamed Ahmed Elsayed

    6   Department of Endodontics, RAK College of Dental Sciences, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
    7   Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
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Abstract

Objectives

The aim of this article is to quantitatively assess the amount and distribution of residual filling after retreatment of root canals obturated with a bioceramic sealer using three obturation techniques: single-cone technique (SCT), warm vertical compaction (WVC), and cold lateral compaction (CLC).

Materials and Methods

Forty-two mandibular premolars were prepared up to size F4 and randomly assigned to SCT, WVC, or CLC (n = 14/group). All canals were obturated with a bioceramic sealer. After storage for 15 days at 37 °C, retreatment was performed using the ProTaper Universal Retreatment (PTUR) without solvent. Roots were sectioned longitudinally, and residual fillings in coronal, middle, and apical thirds were quantified using stereomicroscopy and analyzed with ImageJ. Intra-examiner reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients.

Statistical Analysis

Nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare residual filling percentages among the three techniques, followed by pairwise comparisons with the Mann–Whitney U-test. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05.

Results

No statistically significant differences were observed among the three obturation techniques in the percentage of remaining fillings (p = 0.0657). SCT exhibited the highest percentage of residuals (86.31 ± 14.49%), and CLC the lowest (62.66 ± 31.90%). All techniques exhibited a progressive increase in residuals toward the apical third.

Conclusion

None of the obturation techniques allowed complete removal of bioceramic-based fillings after retreatment with PTUR. Although differences were not statistically significant, CLC was associated with the lowest amount of residuals, whereas SCT exhibited the highest. The apical third remained the most challenging region to clean across all techniques.

Keywords

bioceramic sealer - cold lateral compaction - single-cone technique - warm vertical compaction - rotary retreatment - root canal retreatment


Publication History

Article published online:
04 February 2026

© 2026. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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