Comparative evaluation of sealing ability of different obturation materials

Root canal filling materials are intended to prevent microleakage and passing of microorganisms and their toxins along the root canal space and into the periradicular tissues. Objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare apical leakage of root canals obturated using a modified warm vertical condensation technique and different materials. Sixty-five extracted single-root teeth were prepared according to the crown-down/ step-back technique. Each canal was rinsed with 3% NaOCl during and after the preparation. The teeth were divided into 3 groups. Every group was obturated by the same technique, but with different materials: RealSeal system (SybronEndo), gutta-percha with AH Plus (Dentsply Maillefer) and gutta-percha with Acroseal sealer (Septodont). The remaining 20 teeth were in the control group. The teeth were immersed in 1% methylene blue for 72 hours. After that period, the roots were split longitudinally, and dye penetration was measured using a stereomicroscope. Dye penetration occurred in all groups. The least dye penetration occurred in the RealSeal group (0.33 +/- 0.29 mm), while the highest dye penetration occurred in the Acroseal group (1.11 +/- 0.52 mm). According to the Student's t-test, Acroseal showed significantly more leakage (p < 0.001) than RealSeal and AH Plus materials. The microleakage of RealSeal system was not significantly different (p > 0.05) from that of AH Plus sealer with gutta-percha. The results suggested that new material Resilon (RealSeal) and conventional combination AH Plus with guttapercha had the least apical dye penetration and provided the best sealing.