A study by Platt and Wannfors investigated the use of a light-cured compomer combined with a light-cured dental adhesive as a root-end filling. The study involved 34 teeth in 28 patients; the teeth were single-rooted incisors or canines in the maxilla or mandible that needed a surgical root canal procedure. A shallow, concave, apical preparation was restored with a light-cured compomer and dental adhesive. After a week of healing, the teeth were evaluated for signs of postoperative infection, then the teeth were examined radiographically after a year. As a control, a conventional root-end preparation was filled with a chemically-cured glass ionomer, for comparison with the compomer and dental adhesive technique. Healing was classified as unsatisfactory; uncertain; incomplete (scar tissue); or complete. The study found a significantly higher success rate in the treatment group using the compomer and dental adhesive, compared to the group using glass ionomer. Complete healing was found in 89% of the compomer group versus 44% of the glass ionomer group. The study concludes that a bonded compomer used with an adhesive system could be an effective retrograde root filling material regardless of the quality of the remaining root filling.
(Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medi-cine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontics. Vol. 97, No. 4, 2004)
