The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of preparation with GT files and profiles .04 in shaping of root canals and reconstruct the three-dimensional root canal system using micro computed tomography.

40 canals of the extracted human mandibular molars were used, and randomly distributed into two experimental groups. In group 1, canals were prepared by GT files. In group 2, Profiles .04. were used. Apical preparation size was #30.

For each tooth pre and post operative cross-sectional images were obtained by the micro CT at 50 micron intervals. Pre and post operative cross-sectional images of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8mm from the apex were compared. For each section, canal area and centering ratio were determined. For each tooth pre- and post-operative root canal volume from the furcation to the apex of the roots was calculated by three-dimensional image software. Following results were obtained:

1. At 8mm from the apex, area of dentin removed by GT rotary file was significantly larger than that by Profile .04. And at the other levels there was not a significant difference.

2. There was a trend for GT rotary file to remain more centered in the canals than Profile .04 at all levels. But at 3mm level, there was a statistically significant difference.

3. In root canal volume increments after instrumentation, there was no significant difference between two groups.

This study compared the dentin shear bond strengths of currently used dentin bonding agents that were irradiated with an LED (Elipar FreeLight, 3M-ESPE) and a halogen light (VIP, BISCO). The optical characteristics of two light curing units were evaluated. Extracted human third molars were prepared to expose the occlusal dentin and the bonding procedures were performed under the irradiation with each light curing unit. The dentin bonding agents used in this study were Scotchbond Multipurpose (3M ESPE), Single Bond (3M ESPE), One-Step (Bisco), Clearfil SE bond (Kuraray), and Adper Prompt (3M ESPE). The shear test was performed by employing the design of a chisel-on-iris supported with a Teflon wall. The fractured dentin surface was observed with SEM to determine the failure mode.

The spectral appearance of the LED light curing unit was different from that of the halogen light curing unit in terms of maximum peak and distribution. The LED LCU (maximum peak in 465 ㎚) shows a narrower spectral distribution than the halogen LCU (maximum peak in 487 ㎚). With the exception of the Clearfil SE bond (P < 0.05), each 4 dentin bonding agents showed no significant difference between the halogen light-cured group and the LED light-cured group in the mean shear bond strength (P > 0.05).

The results can be explained by the strong correlation between the absorption spectrum of cam-phoroquinone and the narrow emission spectrum of LED.

The use of flowable composite resins as liners in class II packable composite restoration has been suggested by some manufacturers. However, the contributions of this technique are unproven. The purpose of this study was to compare the gingival microleakage in class II packable composite restorations with or without the use of flowable composite resins as liners.

Slot cavities were prepared on both proximals of 80 extracted human molars and randomly assigned to 8 groups of 20 each. The gingival margins were located at 1mm above CEJ in 80 cavities (group1-4) and 1mm below CEJ in 80 cavities (group5-8). The prepared teeth were mounted in the customized tray with adjacent teeth to simulate clinical conditions and metallic matrix band (Sectional matrix) and wooden wedges were applied. After acid etching and application of Single Bond, each group was restored with the following materials using incremental placement technique: Group 1,5 (Filtek P60), group 2, 3, 4 and group 6, 7, 8 (AeliteFlo, TetricFlow, Revolution/Filtek P60). All specimens were thermocycled 500 times between 5℃ and 55℃ with 1 mimute dwell time, immersed 2% methylene blue dye for 24 hours and then rinsed with tab water. The specimens were embedded in clear resin and sectioned longitudinally through the center of restoration with a low speed diamond saw. Dye penetration at gingival margin was viewed at 20 magnification and analyzed on a scale of 0 to 4. Kruscal-Wallis One way analysis and Mann-Whitney Rank sum test were used to analyze the results.

The results of this study were as follows.

1. The leakage values seen at the enamel margin were significantly lower than those seen at the dentin margin(P<0.05).

2. On the enamel margin, packable composite resins with flowable liners showed lower leakage than those without flowable liners, but there were no significant differences among the four groups(P>0.05).

3. On the dentin margin, four groups demonstrated moderate to severe leakage, and there were no significant differences in leakage values(P>0.05).