The historical aspects
Root canal obturation is necessary to fill the dead space left behind when the pulp is lost. Root canal treatment methodologies are very old and have changed very little over the years. The root canal obturation is usually undertaken using a solid cone and a sealer. Initially it was used as a single cone together with root canal sealer, then the techniques evolved to lateral condensation and warm vertical compaction to enhance the three dimensional quality of the root canal filling (1).
The core acts as a piston on the flowable sealer, causing it to spread, fill voids and to wet and attach to the instrumented dentin wall. It is the sealer that comes into contact with the dentine and periodontal tissues. It is thus important that the sealer possesses the ideal material properties as outlined by Grossman (2). The three primary functions of a root filling are the sealing against ingrowth of bacteria from the oral cavity, entombment of remaining microorganisms and complete obturation at a microscopic level to prevent stagnant fluid from accumulating and serving as nutrients for bacteria from any source...
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