The aim of this study was to determine if a buccal curvature in the palatal roots of maxillary molars affected the clinician’s ability to accurately determine working length. Twenty-seven extracted, human maxillary molars were sorted by palatal root curvatures as J- and C-type and the angle of curvature was determined. Straight-line access was made and a #20 file was placed into the canal until the tip was visible at the apical foramen then withdrawn. The file, tooth and calibration wire were radiographed on one image using the RVG. Actual (file) and radiographic (tooth) lengths were determined using the RVG ruler. Radiographic length appeared shorter on average than the actual length. Canal curvatures larger than 25 degrees had differences greater than 0.5mm. This represents a statistically significant difference between the actual and radiographic lengths as the degree of curvature increases. There was no significant difference between the J- and C- types.

This study determined if the cleaning efficiency of NiTi rotary files in an endodontic electric handpiece using a no torque control setting was superior to that obtained when using the torque control feature. Fifty extracted human anterior teeth with straight canals were divided into two groups of 20 and two control groups of 5. Canals were instrumented with GT and .04 Profile NiTi files until a size 35 advanced to working length. Samples were sectioned, the apical 6 mm of the canal was photographed (x20) and projected onto a 3 x 4 foot grid with squares measuring 0.5 inches each. Total debris was the percentage of the number of squares containing debris versus the total number of squares. Results showed that the teeth in the torque controlled group showed an average of 24.99% debris vs. 15.55% for the teeth in the no torque group. The difference was not statistically significant.

This study determined if any of four endodontic solutions would have a softening effect on resorcinol-formalin paste and if there were any differences in the solvent action between these solutions. Resorcinol, formalin and zinc oxide were mixed and allowed to set for 30 days. The solutions tested were 0.9% sodium chloride, 5.25% NaOCl, chloroform and Endosolv R. Seven samples per solution were tested and an additional seven samples served as controls. Each sample was saturated with one of the solutions and the depth of penetration was tested at 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, 10 min and 20 min using a dial strain gauge. At 2 minutes, NaOCl and sodium chloride had significantly greater penetration than the other groups (p-values < 0.0010). Sodium hypochlorite was superior to all other groups after 5 minutes. This study showed that both sodium chloride and NaOCl exhibited a significant softening effect within two minutes.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate possible factors that have the potential to contribute to increased risk for endodontic disease. Some of the factors that were analyzed in this study include current diagnosis with systemic disease, particularly diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Association between these factors, treatment outcome, and prognosis have also been analyzed. Since the topic of endodontic medicine and its association with systemic disease is not fully explored in the literature, it is critical to conduct studies to further contribute to this topic. This study analyzed clinical data from patients who received treatment for endodontic disease between January 1 – December 30, 2019 at an endodontic office in Brevard County, Florida. During the spring semester of 2021, collected data was downloaded into SPSS and analyzed to evaluate the association between systemic diseases and endodontic disease. Both descriptive analysis and one-way ANOVA were utilized to test the proposed hypotheses. Results from one-way ANOVA among clinical assessment categories showed no significant difference between means of the systemic disease groups. For the impact of treatment on clinical assessment and prognosis, one-way ANOVA did show significant differences indicating potential impact of systemic disease on treatment outcome.

Introduction: One of the main causes of endodontic treatment failures is the persistence of microorganisms within the root canal systems. Piezoelectric materials, including barium titanate (BaTiO3), offer antibacterial effects. The aim of this project is to develop an endodontic sealer embedded with piezoelectric fillers for the prevention of root canal infections. Materials and methods: BaTiO3 particles were mixed with EndoSequence (BC) sealer in two concentrations (5% and 10%wt). Flowability test was conducted for each type of sealer according to ISO-6876 guidelines. The antibacterial evaluation was performed using an ex-vivo model. Single-rooted extracted teeth were instrumented, and canals were infected with Enterococcus faecalis for 7 days. Following the root canal treatment, the sealers (BC, BC+ BaTiO3-5%, BC+ BaTiO3-10%) were used for obturation. Untreated teeth were used as positive control. Specimens with BaTiO3 particles were subjected to compression cyclic loading to activate the piezoelectric charges and resemble mastication forces. Cell viability (CFU/mL) was used to determine the number of bacteria at the bonded interface of the sealant. ANOVA was used to evaluate the statistical differences among the groups. Results: The addition of BaTiO3 particles into BC Sealer resulted in a decrease in flowability (BC: 21.7 ± 0.55 mm, BC+ BaTiO3-5%:19.5 ± 0.50 mm, BC+ BaTiO3-10%:17.44 ± 0.40 mm). All sealers exhibited antibacterial properties. The addition of BaTiO3 nanoparticles significantly enhanced the antibacterial efficacy compared to BC sealer. However, there was no significant difference between the BC+BTO 5% and BC+BTO 10% groups (BC: 3.90 ± 0.27, while both the BC+BTO 5%: 3.31 ± 0.12, BC+BTO 10%: 3.01 ± 0.22). Conclusion: An antibacterial piezoelectric endodontic sealer was developed. Adding more than 5%w of BaTiO3 particles into BC sealers enhanced the antimicrobial efficacy. However, adding more than 10% of BaTiO3 negatively affects the sealer's flow properties. / Oral Biology

July 2007 "A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science [Dental Medicine]."

July 2007 "A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science [Dental Medicine]."

June 2008 "A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry."

June 2010 "A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry."

June 2010 A thesis submitted to the College of Dental Medicine of Nova Southeastern University of the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry.