Radiopacity of Premixed calcium silicate-based endodontic sealers

Abstract

Background: Premixedcalcium silicate-based sealers are ready-to-use, injectable materials with advantageous biological properties that create environment favorable for periapical tissues repair and health. The aim of our study was to examine the radiopacities of premixed calcium silicate-based sealers:TotalFill BCSealer, EndoSequence BC Sealer, Ceraseal, Bio-C Sealer and to compare them with epoxy-basedsealer, AH Plus. Material and methods: Three specimens (2 mm thick and 5 mm in diameter) of each sealer were radiographed using charge-coupled device-baseddigital sensor (Trophy Radiology, Cedex, France) along with an aluminum stepwedge reference.For radiopacity determination, a graph of the logarithm of aluminum thickness versus radiographic density was plotted and a calibration curve was generated. Radiopacities were assessed from the graph and presented as millimeters of aluminum per millimeter of material (mmAl).ANOVA with a post hoc Tukey test was used for statistical analysis and significance was set at 0.05. Results: Radiopacity values of EndoSequence BC Sealer and Bio-C Sealerwere significantly lower than radiopacities of Ceraseal and AH Plus. Differences in values between EndoSequence BC Sealer and Bio-C Sealer as well as between Ceraseal and AH Plus were nonsignificant. TotalFill BC Sealer was nonsignificantly different from all other sealers. Conclusion: Premixed calcium silicate-based endodontic sealers evaluated in our study had radiopacity values higher than 9 mmAl, in ascending order,from Bio-C Sealer, EndoSequence BC Sealer, TotalFill BC Sealer to Ceraseal.