Assessment of the sealing ability of a new root canal obturation material

This study was designed to compare the leakage allowed by different obturation materials, using a fluid-transport method. Sixty-six single-rooted human anterior teeth were fully instrumented by using the "stepback" technique and irrigated with 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. The smear layer was removed by washing in 10 ml of 17% EDTA. The specimens were randomly divided into three experimental groups of 18 teeth each, plus two groups of 6 teeth each for positive and negative controls. The specimens were obturated by the lateral condensation technique, with gutta-percha and AH 26 or AH plus sealers, or Epiphany sealer and Resilon core material. The fluid transport method used in this study gave quantitative results and allowed nondestructive evaluation of the specimens. The teeth filled with gutta-percha and AH 26 exhibited the most leakage. The least leakage was seen with Epiphany sealer and Resilon core material. The differences in leakage among the groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05). It was concluded that of the materials tested under the conditions of this study, Epiphany allowed the least leakage.