Clinical and radiographic evaluation of overfillings during endodontic treatment

Traditional endodontic teaching defines overfills as extending the endodontic filling material either laterally or vertically into the attachment apparatus. It could be either a surplus after three-dimensional obturation, which is accepted; or an overextension of gutta-percha, which is related as one of the cause of endodontic failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinically and radiographically the periapical status of the cases of overfilling during the endodontic treatment performed by undergraduate students of the Piracicaba Dental School. The mean time between the date of root-filling and the follow-up appointment was 9.48 ± 2.40 months, and complete resorption of the endodontic sealing was observed in 55.5% (11/18) of the cases, occurring in 9.69 ± 2.58 months. It was concluded that clinical and radiographic periapical healing also occurs in teeth with overfilling.