The effect of MTAD on the coronal leakage of obturated root canals

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of smear-layer removal using MTAD on coronal leakage of obturated root canals using a dye-leakage test. Fifty, extracted, single-rooted, human teeth were cleaned and shaped and divided into 5 equal groups of 10 each. The smear layer in groups 1 to 3 was left intact. The smear layer in groups 4 and 5 was removed using 17% EDTA or MTAD, respectively. After obturation of root canals, the access opening to each canal was filled with India ink for 48 h. The depth of coronal-dye penetration was measured using the Sigmascan software. ANOVA showed statistically significant differences among the groups (p < 0.05). Samples treated with MTAD yielded significantly less leakage than samples treated with sodium hypochlorite. The amount of dye penetration was not statistically different between teeth treated with MTAD or EDTA (p = 0.062).