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The use of sonic and ultrasonic activation of endodontic sealer to improve sealer filling quality in the root canal: a scoping review

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Abstract

This scoping review aimed to map whether the use of sonic and ultrasonic methods to activate the endodontic sealer improves the sealer filling quality in the root canal, considering the bond strength and intratubular penetration to the root dentin as evaluation criteria. The study protocol was prospectively registered and is available online (https://osf.io/x5fma/). Reporting was based on PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. The search was performed in Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We selected studies without time and language restrictions that used sonic or ultrasonic methods to activate endodontic sealer, whose outcomes were bond strength and intratubular penetration. Three researchers independently selected the articles and collected data. Of 1422 articles, 19 were read in full and 13 studies were included. The vast majority of studies opted for direct activation of the endodontic sealer. The most investigated sealers were the epoxy resin-based sealers, and the ultrasonic activation method was the most explored. For the bond strength outcome, there was a trend toward higher values when the sealer was activated ultrasonically, but the findings seem to be divergent. The sonic activation was not effective for its intended purpose. For the outcome of intratubular penetration, the vast majority of studies indicate that the use of sonic and ultrasonic methods to activate the endodontic sealer is capable of increasing intratubular penetration. The use of sonic and ultrasonic methods to directly activate the endodontic sealer can increase the intratubular penetration of the sealer, but their benefits on the bond strength are uncertain.

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Data available on request from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for their support.

Funding

This study was partly funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) “Grant number 001”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduate Program in Oral Science, Federal University of Santa Maria, Roraima Avenue #1000, T Street, Building 26F, Room 2383, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Guilherme Pauletto & Carlos Alexandre Souza Bier

  2. Graduate Program in Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Yasmin Padoin & Sidnei Flores de Pellegrin

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  1. Guilherme Pauletto
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  2. Yasmin Padoin
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  3. Sidnei Flores de Pellegrin
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  4. Carlos Alexandre Souza Bier
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Contributions

GP: conceptualization; data curation; investigation; methodology; software; validation; visualization; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing. YP: data curation; investigation; methodology; software; validation; visualization; writing—review and editing. SFdeP: conceptualization; data curation; investigation; methodology; software; validation; visualization; writing—review and editing. CASB: conceptualization; funding acquisition; investigation; methodology; project administration; resources; software; supervision; validation; visualization; writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Guilherme Pauletto.

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Pauletto, G., Padoin, Y., de Pellegrin, S.F. et al. The use of sonic and ultrasonic activation of endodontic sealer to improve sealer filling quality in the root canal: a scoping review. Odontology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10266-024-00901-9

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