When Dr. Hugo Chavez started practicing dentistry in 1983, the sealer was the final step -- an afterthought after the real work of cleaning and shaping was done. More than four decades later, he has a different view. The sealer, he says, is where a root canal succeeds or fails. You can do perfect bioinstrumentation of the canal. If the seal leaks, you have a failure.
In this sponsored episode of The DrBicuspid.com podcast -- produced in partnership with Essential Dental Systems -- Editor-in-Chief Kevin Henry sits down with Chavez, a Florida-based clinician who has owned his practice for more than 30 years, for a candid conversation about how endodontic philosophy has shifted from mechanical to biological and what that shift means for the materials clinicians choose.
The change Chavez describes did not happen overnight. It came gradually by studying the literature, participating in study clubs, and the accumulated weight of clinical experience. What the field has moved away from, he says, are epoxy cements that were functional but not truly compatible with the biology of the surrounding tissue.
What it is moving toward are biocompatible, remineralizing materials that the body recognizes as its own -- sealers that do not change dimensions over time, do not cause chronic irritation beyond the apex, and that carry antibacterial properties. Chavez now uses a bioceramic sealer called BioSeal, which he describes as particularly easy to handle and forgiving in the canal's irregular anatomy, including the lateral canals that standard obturation often misses.
He also addresses the most common objection he hears from colleagues, "My current sealer works fine, so why change?" Chavez's answer is, "Fine compared to what?"
The standard Chavez is measuring against is not acceptable, it is optimal. A material's track record across multiple cases, not a single successful outcome, is what earns trust. And the cases where a dentist has failed, he notes, are exactly what get discussed in the study clubs he attends, because that is where real learning occurs.
One practical thread worth pulling from the conversation: Price matters. A biologically superior material that a patient cannot afford does not help anyone. Chavez makes the point that two criteria -- clinical performance and accessibility -- are no longer as mutually exclusive as they once were.
Chavez can be reached at [email protected]. Learn more about Essential Dental Systems.
Listen to the full conversation below.
