Experimental Study of Temperature Elevations in Extracted Teeth Using a System B Heating Catheter for Bacterial Disinfection

摘要

The current experimental study measured the temperatures at the root canal surface and at the outer surface of the tooth root. Since heat transfer induced by the heating catheter of the System B only occurs from the root canal to the outside, the temperature elevations inside the deep dentin should vary between the heating catheter set temperature and that measured at the outer root surface. Previous clinical and experimental investigations have suggested that killing bacteria requests at least 10 seconds with a temperature of 47°C. Therefore, the current study has illustrated the feasibility of using the System B toheat the root dentin above 47°C for sufficient time to kill the bacteria harboring in the root dentin. In the meantime, the experimental studies have demonstrated the thermal balance between heating the deep tooth dentin and damaging the supporting periodontium located outside the root. Although the experiments can identify a typical heating time of less than 20 seconds at the catheter temperature setting of 200℃, it is evident that the measured temperature rises from one tooth to another change significantly. We believe that the tooth dentin thickness is a major factor determining how much and how fast heat is transferred to the outer periodontium. Currently, we are using a microCT imaging system to quantify the geometrical variations of the teeth used in the experiment and to establish a correlation between the measured temperature elevations and the dentin thickness. Another factor to be studied in the future is the possible age-related changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of dentin, which can also affect the temperature distribution in teeth. Nevertheless, we believe that the current study is the first step to developing an alternative and effective thermal approach in eliminating bacteria in root canal procedures.