In Vitro Analysis of the Temperature of Two Thermal Agents: Ice Stick and Heated Gutta-Percha Stick
João Marcelo Ferreira de Medeiros1*, Juliete Marques Souza da Silva2, José Lucas Martins3, Pedro Luiz de Carvalho4,
Caleb Shitsuka5, Miguel Simão Haddad Filho6 and Irineu Gregnanin Pedron7
1Professor, Department of Endodontics, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
2Undergraduate Student, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
3Professor, Department of Dentistry, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
4Professor, Department of Propaedeutics Dental, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil
5Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Cariology, Universidade Brasil and Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas, São Paulo, Brazil
6Professor, Department of Endodontics, Universidade São Francisco, Bragança Paulista, Brazil
7Professor, Department of Periodontology, Implantology, Stomatology, Integrated Clinic and Therapeutics, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil
*Corresponding Author: João Marcelo Ferreira de Medeiros, Professor, Department of Endodontics, Universidade Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil. Tel: +55 11 98266-6915
Received: February 19, 2022 Published: February 28, 2022
Abstract
Thermal tests of cold and heat are semiological resources coadjuvant to professional experience, helping to determine the pulp condition. However, thermal variations may compromise the diagnostic fidelity. The purpose of this study was to analyze in vitro the temperatures of ice sticks and heated gutta-percha sticks using a digital thermometer. The temperature of both materials was measured by simply touching the thermocouple, recording the temperature on the digital display of the device. Thirty-six ice sticks were produced in a freezer from anesthetic tubes filled with water. The gutta-percha rods were heated directly over an alcohol lamp. The temperatures of the gutta-percha stick showed greater variations than those obtained in the tests with the ice stick. The temperatures with the gutta-percha stick varied between 90.20°C (194.3°F) and 146.10°C (294.9°F), corresponding to an average temperature of 114.08°C (237.3°F). The temperature obtained from the ice stick, observed in 36 trials, was 1°C (33.8°F) and, in 14 situations, the temperature was 2°C (35.6°F), with an average temperature of 1.28°C (34.3°F). Therefore, the ice stick shows less dissimilar temperature variations than the heated gutta-percha stick. There were no thermal variations from the numerical point of view in relation to obtaining the temperatures of the thermal test by cold using the ice stick, while there were temperature variations and differences in number when the tests performed with the heated gutta-percha stick.
Keywords: Dental pulp tests; Ice; Gutta-percha; Heating.
Citation: de Medeiros JMF, da Silva JMS, Martins JL, de Carvalho PL, Shitsuka C, Filho MSH, Pedron IG. “In Vitro Analysis of the Temperature of Two Thermal Agents: Ice Stick and Heated Gutta-Percha Stick”. SVOA Dentistry 3:2 (2022) Pages 85-89.
