Comparative assessment of apical sealing ability of three different endodontic sealers: A scanning electron microscopic study

AimThe present in vitro SEM study compared the apical sealing ability of three different endodontic sealers used in single cone obturation technique.Material and method45 freshly extracted mandibular premolars with single canal and fully formed apices were selected. The samples were decoronated at/below the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) obtaining root lengths of 15 mm. The samples were instrumented using ProTaper rotary file system SX-F2. Following instrumentation the samples were randomly divided in three different groups for three different sealers to be used in single cone obturation technique. Group 1 EndoSequence BC, Group 2 GuttaFlow 2 and Group 3 AH Plus. The sealers were allowed to set completely. Following this the samples were longitudinally sectioned at the apical third and gold sputtered for SEM evaluation. The interphase between the radicular dentin and the root canal filling material were obtained in micrometers (μm) from the SEM images. Statistical analysis was performed.ResultsThe groups exhibited a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). Group 3 presented with the highest interphase distance (p < 0.01), whereas Group 1 and 2 exhibited a statistically similar values (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe GuttaFlow 2 and Endosequence BC endodontic sealers showed better adaptation to the radicular dentin as compared to AH Plus sealer.