The evaluation of apical leakage for three endodontic fill systems

This study evaluated the apical leakage for three endodontic systems: (1) lateral condensation with Essential Dental System's epoxy adhesive: (2) Thermafil with Thermaseal adhesive; and (3) EZ-Fill Bi-directional spiral with EDS' epoxy adhesive. Five groups of 10 recently extracted single-rooted human teeth were used. Results showed that lateral condensation, and the EDS' EZ-Fill Bi-directional, and Thermafil techniques did not differ from each other, but differed from the no treatment group and the instrumented-unfilled group. In the current study, the EZ-Fill Bi-directional technique produced a tighter apical seal than either lateral condensation or Thermafil obturation techniques, but they all were not significantly different. EZ-Fill Bi-directional is a faster and more economical alternative to lateral condensation and Thermafil obturation.