Assessment of three Techniques in Surpassing Ledges in Curved Canals

The ledge formation is an iatrogenic accident that occurs in a curved canal due to the incorect application of the preparation techniques. The aim of this study was to find out which of the three well-known obturation techniques can surpass better an artificial created ledge. Matherials and methods: artificial ledge were created using Gates-Glidden drills no.1 and 2 at 15 mm and no.3 at 13 mm of the working lenght of fortyfour resin blocks. Thirty blocks that didn’t allowed a #10 file to surpass the ledge were accepted for study, divided into three equal groups and filled by lateral condensation, thermal compaction and continuous wave System B technique. Results: System B resulted in the highest obturated area beyond the starting point of the ledge (p<0,05), while lateral condensation showed the worst results. There were no differences between thermal compaction and lateral condensation in surpassing the deviation. Conclusion: within the limitation of this study, System B seems to be the the most appropriate techique when trying to surpass a ledge.