Doctor of Dental Science / Throughout the centuries man has shown a desire to preserve his dentition. Despite on the one hand the influences of tribal rituals upon early tooth loos in primitive man and on the other effects of the dental caries and more recently the increase in traumatic injuries in civilized communities, the trend towards preservation continues. Teeth which were once doomed because of excessive loss of coronal tooth substance may now be restored due to advances in both materials technology and operative dentistry techniques particularly throughout the last two decades. Likewise those with endodontic involvement may in the majority of cases now be restored to biological compatibility with the supporting tissues. This has been achieved due to the scientific and technological advances which have taken place in the science of endontology in a like period. The role played by the endontist in conservative dental therapy has increased markedly in recent years. The majority of large population centres in the western world contain practitioners who have attained specialist skills in the science and who thus provide a specialist service to their colleagues. Throughout the same period, the interest shown by the dental profession at large is demonstrated by the growth of societies and study clubs devoted to the exclusive study of endontology. Parallel with this, dental schools throughout the world have included the study of endontics within their curriculae both at the undergraduate and at the graduate level and learned societies and dental associations continue to make provision for courses of lectures in endontics at dental meetings and congresses …

Doctor of Dental Science / Throughout the centuries man has shown a desire to preserve his dentition. Despite on the one hand the influences of tribal rituals upon early tooth loos in primitive man and on the other effects of the dental caries and more recently the increase in traumatic injuries in civilized communities, the trend towards preservation continues. Teeth which were once doomed because of excessive loss of coronal tooth substance may now be restored due to advances in both materials technology and operative dentistry techniques particularly throughout the last two decades. Likewise those with endodontic involvement may in the majority of cases now be restored to biological compatibility with the supporting tissues. This has been achieved due to the scientific and technological advances which have taken place in the science of endontology in a like period. The role played by the endontist in conservative dental therapy has increased markedly in recent years. The majority of large population centres in the western world contain practitioners who have attained specialist skills in the science and who thus provide a specialist service to their colleagues. Throughout the same period, the interest shown by the dental profession at large is demonstrated by the growth of societies and study clubs devoted to the exclusive study of endontology. Parallel with this, dental schools throughout the world have included the study of endontics within their curriculae both at the undergraduate and at the graduate level and learned societies and dental associations continue to make provision for courses of lectures in endontics at dental meetings and congresses …

Thesis (D.D. Sc.)--University of Sydney, 1977. / Title from title screen (viewed 17 April 2009). Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1986.

Thesis--Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1975.

Thesis--Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1975.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1980.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1983.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1954.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry. School of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Johannesburg, 2014 / Purpose: Endodontic retreatment requires the removal of the obturation material from the root canal system. Gutta percha (GP), the most commonly employed obturation material, requires mechanical instrumentation coupled with a chemical adjunct to facilitate its removal. Xylene and Eucalyptus oil are recommended as endodontic solvents due to their dissolving capacity of GP. This study sought to test the changes in the hardness and penetrability of three types of GP (Conventional, Thermafil® and Guttacore™) when exposed to these solvents, utilizing distilled water as a control. Method and materials: Textural analysis was performed to determine the hardness by testing for rigidity, and the penetrability by testing for deformation energy and resilience. These properties were tested on 81 GP cones prior to, and following solvent exposure. For each outcome variable, results were tabulated by group. Between-group differences were assessed by means of a General Linear Model, with the outcome variable as the dependent variable and the solvent, GP type and solvent-GP type interaction as the independent variables. Results: A significant decrease in rigidity and deformation energy was observed across all groups. Resilience was observed to decrease with the thermoplastic GP, Thermafil and Guttacore, but increased with conventional GP. Thermoplastic GP was more amenable to a reduction in hardness and penetration when compared with Conventional GP. A greater reduction in the hardness of Thermafil was observed with Eucalyptus oil. Conventional GP was susceptible to a significant reduction in hardness with both solvents, however its penetrability may be reduced following exposure to Xylene. Guttacore was significantly altered by both solvents. Conclusions: Considering the toxicity profile of Xylene, and the biocompatibility and antimicrobial effects of Eucalyptol, Eucalyptus oil is recommended for use during endodontic retreatment.