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Concerning the relative merits of conventional endodontic treatment and the Sargenti method of filling root canals

Harris, W.E., (1976) Tex Dent. JL, 94, 31-32(Mar)

Paste fillers such as N2 used in a technique called the Sargenti method, as an alternative to conventional endodontic techniques, have recently been used by an increasing number of dentists. N2 pastes are reported lo contain between 11 and 26.9% lead tetraoxide, up to 6.5% paraformaldehyde and 0.19% phenylmercuric borate. Severe and prolonged pain, paresthesia. tooth ankylosis and tissue sloughing to the extent of requiring plastic surgery, have occurred when N2 paste was extruded beyond the apices of teeth. N2 paste has been implicated in the death of a Californian woman.  Several pieces of paste were recovered from her lungs at an autopsy following her death in a dental office. No United States and few European dental schools teach the Sargenti method. Its commercial sale is banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration. The use of N2 paste as a root canal filling material is contra-indicated.