Effect of methods of evaluation on sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate apical plug

The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare the sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) with three different methods.

Forty single canal teeth were decoronated, and root canals were enlarged to simulate immature apex. The samples were randomly divided into Group MD = MTA-angelus mixed with distilled water and Group MC = MTA-angelus mixed with 2% chlorhexidine, and apical seal was recorded with glucose penetration method, fluid filtration method, and dye penetration methods and compared.

The three methods of evaluation resulted differently. The glucose penetration method showed that MD sealed better than MC, but difference was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). The fluid filtration method resulted that Group MC was statistically insignificant superior to Group MD (P > 0.05). The dye penetration method showed that Group MC sealed statistically better than Group MD.

No correlation was found among the results obtained with the three methods of evaluation. Addition of chlorhexidine enhanced the sealing ability of MTA according to the fluid filtration test and dye leakage while according to the glucose penetration test, chlorhexidine did not enhance the sealing ability of MTA. This study showed that relying on the results of apical sealing by only method can be misleading.