Thermafil

Thermafil warm gutta-percha technic has gained increasing popularity during the last few years in many countries. The present system consists of a plastic core with 0.04 taper coated with gutta-percha. The points are heated for a few moments, the time depending on the size of the point, in a special oven. The canal walls are painted with a thin layer of sealer and the point is then inserted into the canal to the preparation length. Pieces of cold gutta-percha may be packed in the mid and upper canal to compensate shrinkage as the material cools. Leakage studies indicate that a good quality seal can be obtained with this technic when carefully performed. Control of possible overfillings as with other warm gutta-percha technics remains an open question.
Hybrid Thermafil (or Thermafil backfilling) is a modification of the Thermafil technic. It is a combination of cold lateral condensation and Thermafil: A GP master point with sealer is first inserted into the canal and condensed with a spreader. This is followed by a Thermafil point. Hybrid technic is as easy and fast to use as traditional Thermafil, but allows better control of overfilling in cases where this might be a problem.