introduction : the purpose of this clinical study was to compare the blood mercury levels before and after endodontic surgery using amalgam as a root-end filling material. materials and methods: fourteen patients requiring periradicular surgery participated in this prospective clinical study. a zinc-free amalgam was employed as root-end filling material. blood samples were collected at three in...

Treponema denticola has long been considered as a periodontal pathogen. Listgarten also reported that spirochetes are conspicuous inhabitants of subgingival plaque in patients with gingivitis and periodontitis. Although this bacteria is well known to be important periodontal pathogens, several studies suggest that spirochetes may be involved in pulpal and periapical infections as well. For inst...

Prevention or treatment of apical periodontitis is aimed at disinfecting the root canal system so that the periradicular tissues are not vulnerable to attack from microbiota within the tooth. This is achieved by a process of cleaning and shaping the root canal space. The fundamental principles underlying this process have not changed in decades. In contrast, the armamentarium available to the c...

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in human periapical lesions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Samples were obtained from three groups of teeth: symptomatic teeth, asymptomatic lesions, and uninflamed periradicular tissues as a control. RESULTS TNF-alpha levels were significantly increased in symptom...

Apical periodontitis is an infectious disease caused by microorganisms colonizing the root canal system. For an optimal outcome of the endodontic treatment to be achieved, bacterial populations within the root canal should be ideally eliminated or at least significantly reduced to levels that are compatible with periradicular tissue healing. If bacteria persist after chemomechanical preparation...

OBJECTIVES This review article discusses the host response in apical periodontitis with the main focus on cytokines, produced under this pathological condition and contributing to the degradation of periradicular tissues. The pace of research in this field has greatly accelerated in the last decade. Here we provide an analysis of studies published in this area during this period. MATERIAL AND...

Periapical tissue from 58 cases requiring periapical surgery was examined histologically and cultured for the presence of microbes. Twenty-nine had a possible oral cavity communication and 29 did not. Approximately one-half of each biopsy was submitted for culture while the other portion was examined histologically. Cultures were positive for the presence of bacteria in 51 of 58 cases while bac...

Two clinical cases in which Portland cement (PC) was applied as a medicament after pulpotomy of mandibular primary molars in children are presented. Pulpotomy using PC was carried out in two mandibular first molars and one mandibular second molar, which were further followed-up. At the 3, 6 and 12-month follow-up appointments, clinical and radiographic examinations of the pulpotomized teeth and...

Endodontic surgery aims at the resolution of a periapical inflammatory process by surgical access followed by enucleation of the lesion and root-end filling to curb any potentially noxious agent within the physical confines of the affected root. Guided bone regeneration could be associated to endodontic surgery aiming to enhance periradicular tissue regeneration. The objective of this paper was...