Coronal leakage of sealer-only backfill: an in vitro evaluation

We tested the hypothesis that AH Plus and Roeko Seal Automix (RSA) sealers alone are no less effective in preventing coronal microleakage than gutta-percha compacted with sealer. Freshly prepared sheep incisor root canals were obturated with warm gutta-percha alone, AHPlus or RSA alone, or warm gutta-percha with AH Plus or RSA (n = 20 each group). Coronal leakage was assessed under vacuum conditions with Indian ink and tooth clearing. Sealer-only backfills with AH Plus and RSA yielded significantly more dye-free canals than backfills of gutta-percha alone or with sealer (p < 0.001). Warm gutta-percha with or without sealer kept no more canals sealer free than the positive control. Mean dye penetration was 0.92% of canal length for AH Plus and RSA backfills, 27.42% for gutta-percha only backfills, 26.47% for gutta-percha with RSA and 13.92% for gutta-percha with AH Plus. Sealer only backfills allowed significantly less leakage than those including warm gutta-percha (p < 0.001). Sealer-only backfills may be a viable alternative to traditional gutta-percha and sealer compaction methods.