A comparison of the effectiveness of chloroform and eucalyptus oil in dissolving root canal sealers.
OBJECTIVE
The solubility of 8 different root canal sealers in chloroform and in eucalyptus oil was compared.


METHODS
For standardized samples (n=12), ring molds were filled with mixed sealers based on epoxy resin, silicone, calcium hydroxide, zinc oxide-eugenol, glass ionomer, and polyketone. These samples were immersed in chloroform or eucalyptus oil for 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes. Then, the mean weight loss was determined and statistically analyzed.


RESULTS
With the exception of the silicone, all the sealers showed significantly higher solubilities (P <.05) in chloroform than in eucalyptus oil. Epoxy resin was the most soluble sealer in chloroform. In eucalyptus oil, calcium hydroxide, and zinc oxide-eugenol showed the highest solubility.


CONCLUSIONS
Under the conditions of this study, chloroform was a far more effective solvent of root canal sealers than eucalyptus oil. Because of the potential hazards of chloroform, further studies on the dissolution of root canal sealers in different solvents seem to be necessary.
Schäfer
Edgar
E
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany. eschaef@uni-muenster.de
Zandbiglari
Tannaz
T
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002126:Calcium Hydroxide / Q000737:chemistry; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D002725:Chloroform / Q000737:chemistry*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004853:Epoxy Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D005052:Eucalyptus; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion; D007659:Ketones / Q000737:chemistry; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors; D015035:Zinc Oxide-Eugenol Cement / Q000737:chemistry
D004338:Drug Combinations; D004853:Epoxy Resins; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D007659:Ketones; D039821:Monoterpenes; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials; D012828:Silicones; D012997:Solvents; D015035:Zinc Oxide-Eugenol Cement; D002725:Chloroform; C012384:ingalipt; D002126:Calcium Hydroxide