In vitro apical microleakage evaluation for different endodontic sealers by spectrophotometric analysis: an observational study

Abstract

Background: It has been established that several filling techniques can affect apical leakage, which is responsible for 59% of endodontic failures. The primary goal of endodontic therapy is to create a tight seal that aids in repairing the periapical tissues, prevents apical periodontitis, and shields against root canal infection. The study aims to compare the apical sealing ability of epoxy resin based sealer  (AH plus), which is an epoxy-resin-based root canal sealer, GuttaFlow 2, which is a silicone-based root canal sealer, GuttaFlow bioseal is a bioactive glass-based root canal sealer, TotalFill HiFlow bioceramic (BC) sealer is a silicate-based root canal sealer (bioceramic sealer) using a single cone technique by spectrophotometric analysis.  Methods: This study chose 64 maxillary first molars with a straight palatal root. Following palatal roots sectioning to 11 mm from the root apex, the canals were instrumented up to size X4 using Protaper Next. They were separated into  four experimental groups (n = 15) per each group based on the kind of sealer utilized, Group I: AH plus, Group II: GuttaFlow 2, Group III: GuttaFlow bioseal, Group IV: TotalFill BC HiFlow, and two control groups (n =2 for each).  After completing obturation, the dye extraction technique was used to evaluate apical leakage. A spectrophotometer was used to measure the optical density of the solution after all the dyes were liberated from the interfacial regions. Result: A statistically non-significant difference between the investigated root canal sealers in apical microleakage P > 0.05 was noted. The highest mean values were observed in group IV (0.08046), group I(0.07731), and group II(0.06209), while the lowest mean value in group III (0.05719) Conclusions: All types of sealers used in this investigation showed various amounts of microleakage. None of the sealants could completely close the apical foramen to provide a fluid-tight seal.