HALOTHANE AND EUCALYPTOL AS ALTERNATIVES TO CHLOROFORM FOR SOFTENING GUTTA-PERCHA

Because chloroform was identified as a potential carcinogen by the Food and Drug Administration, interest has been revived to identify an alternative solvent to soften gutta-percha for removal from obturated root canals. This study compared the effectiveness of halothane, eucalyptol, and chloroform in softening gutta-percha in simulated root canals. One milliliter of a solvent was placed into a small glass funnel whose stem was obturated with a 30-mm column of gutta-percha. After 30 s, softening was evaluated for each solvent by recording the time required to reach a depth of 10 mm by hand filing with a #100 Hedstrom file. The depth of penetration of a #40 finger plugger under constant weight for 15 min was also determined for each solvent. By using a one-way analysis of variance and Scheffe's test, all comparisons were not significant except for the depth of penetration with constant weight between chloroform and halothane (p < 0.05). The results indicate that halothane and eucalyptol are suitable alternatives to chloroform as gutta-percha softening solvents.