Apical leakage of resin based root canal sealers with a new computerized fluid filtration meter

In this in vitro study, the apical leakage of three root-canal sealers: AH Plus, Diaket, and EndoREZ was evaluated using a new computerized fluid filtration meter. Forty-five extracted human premolar teeth with single root and canal were used. The coronal part of each tooth was removed and the root canals were prepared using GT Rotary files and crown-down technique. The roots were randomly divided into three groups of 15 samples, filled with one of the test materials and gutta-percha cones by the cold lateral condensation technique and were stored at 37 degrees C and 100% humidity for 7 days. One-week later, apical parts of roots of 10 +/- 0.05 mm were attached to computerized fluid filtration meter. Apical leakage quantity was determined as microl/cmH(2)O/min(-1). Statistical analysis indicated that root fillings with Diaket in combination with cold lateral condensation technique showed lower apical leakage than the others (p < 0.05). In addition, this new computerized fluid filtration meter allowed quantitative measurement of leakage easily. As it is a newly developed device to measure apical leakage of endodontic sealers, the reliability of it needed to be tested.