QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF APICAL MICROLEAKAGE OF DIFFERENT ENDODONTIC SEALERS

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the apical microleakage of five root canal sealers using qualitative dye penetration method and quantitative dye extraction method. Materials & Methods: Fifty single rooted premolars were prepared with ProTaper Universal Rotary File System up to size F3 and obturated with lateral condensation technique using F3 master cone and accessory cones. They were divided into five groups (n=10) according to the sealer used for obturation. Group 1-ZOE based sealer, Group2- Calcium Hydroxide based sealer, Group 3 ?Epoxy resin-based sealer, Group 4- Silicon based sealer and Group 5- MTA based sealer. The apical microleakage was determined using two different techniques: Dye penetration and Dye extraction. Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis test and Post hoc Mann Whitney U test [IBM SPSS for Windows, Version 19.0 (SPSS; Chicago, IL, USA)] Results: The difference in apical microleakage was statistically significant according to dye penetration method (Kruskal-Wallis, p<0.001, Post Hoc Mann Whitney U test, p<0.05) between the following groups: A & D, B& C, B & D, C & E, D& E. No significance was seen according to dye extraction technique. Conclusion: MTA and Calcium Hydroxide based sealers displayed least apical leakage while ZOE based sealer displayed highest apical leakage. The results seen with both techniques were more or less similar.