Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the probable side effects of electrosurgery in pulpectomy of deciduous teeth on succedaneous teeth in dogs. Materials and methods:In this animal study, all maxillary and mandibular teeth at one side of five puppies' mouths were treated employing electrosurgical pulpectomy and were then compared with those of the other side treated using the conventional method. The electrosurgical dental electrode was placed in canals to the point of working length for the experimental group. After pulpectomy, the canals were filled with zinc oxide eugenol paste and the access cavity was restored with amalgam. The dogs remained under care until their successor teeth erupted and clinical examination was performed. Results:The teeth treated employing electrosurgical pulpectomy presented natural appearance with no observable defects including enamel hypoplasia, diffuse opacities of enamel, demarcated opacities, and enamel discoloration. Conclusion:Electrosurgical pulpectomy can be considered as an option for pulpectomy of deciduous teeth.

Saliva contamination is a major clinical problem in restorative procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the time of salivary contamination during light curing on the degree of conversion and the microhardness of a restorative composite resin. Eight groups of 10 samples for measuring the microhardness and eight groups of 5 samples for evaluating the degree of conversion were prepared. The samples of each group were contaminated with human saliva at a certain time. The first group (T0) was contaminated before light curing. The specimens in groups T2–T30 were contaminated at 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 s after the start of light curing, respectively. The samples of group T40 were contaminated after light curing. The degree of conversion and the microhardness of the specimens were measured by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Vickers hardness testing techniques, respectively. The results of this study revealed that there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of the degree of conversion of the composite resin. Consistent with the findings for the degree of conversion, significant differences in the microhardness between the groups were not found. In conclusion, from a clinical point of view, the results of our study showed that the time of salivary contamination (before, during or after light curing of composite resin) has no significant effect on the polymerization (degree of conversion) and one of the important mechanical properties of dental composite resins (microhardness).

Introduction: Microorganisms should be considered to have the major role in starting and perpetuation of pulpo-periapical diseases. Using intracanal medicaments is necessary to gain a bacteria-free environment in the canal system. Calcium hydroxide (abbreviated as Ca(OH) 2), which is the most commonly used medicament in endodontic therapy, has been shown to be effective against primary sources of infection; however, its effectiveness against some microorganisms, such as Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis has not been proved. On the other hand, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), chlorhexidine (CHX), and iodine potassium iodide (IKI) have been shown to be the potent medicaments against these microorganisms. Because of this fact, combination of Ca(OH) 2 and some irrigants of the root canal has been suggested as potential intracanal medicaments. The aim of this literature review is to identify and address the efficacy of Ca(OH) 2 in combined with some of these irrigating solutions.

A pulpectomy requires the swift extraction of the inflamed tissue. Moreover, the speed of treatment is especially important in the case of uncooperative children. Conventional pulpectomies, however, often require an extended treatment period, which can therefore cause problems with such patients. Electrosurgical methods have been applied to pulpotomies for a number of years. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies to date have assessed its application to pulpectomies. The aim of this study was to compare clinical and radiographic success rates over a 6-month follow-up period between conventional and electrosurgical pulpectomies. A total of 50 children aged 4 to 8 years were enrolled in this randomized clinical trial. A pulpectomy of the first and second primary molar teeth was seen as the optimal treatment plan in all these patients. One group was treated using the conventional method (C group, 25 teeth) and the other with electrosurgery (ES group, 25 teeth). The patients were evaluated for the presence of pain, mobility, abscess, sinus tract, erythema, tenderness to percussion, internal and external root resorption, and radiolucency. Clinical and radiographic success rates and total working time were assessed. The Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for the statistical analysis. After 6 months of follow-up, the clinical and radiographic success rates were 90.5 and 85.7%, respectively, in the ES group, compared with 88.9 and 72.2%, respectively, in the C group. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p>0.05). Working time, however, was significantly shorter in the ES group (p<0.001). This suggests that pulpectomy with electrosurgery reduces treatment time, and is therefore quite useful in situations where duration of the treatment course is of crucial concern.

Introduction:Microorganisms have been considered to have played a critical role in the initiation and development of pulpoperiapical diseases. Some evidences have shown that mechanical instrumentation may leave considerable portions of canal surfaces undebrided. Therefore, some supplemental methods, such as the use of chemical solutions and/or lasers, have been introduced to further disinfect the complicated canal anatomy and destroy as many microorganisms as possible. The purpose of this review was to address a brief review of characteristics of lasers and their effects to disinfect the root canal in endodontics.