An evaluation of apical leakage of a glass ionomer root canal sealer

An in vitro dye leakage study was performed to compare the apical microleakage of a glass ionomer root canal sealer to Roth's 801 sealer. Forty-five single-rooted teeth were randomly divided into three groups: Ketac-Endo, Roth's 801, and the control group (no sealer). All groups were instrumented using a step-back technique and obturated with laterally condensed gutta-percha. The teeth were placed in a vacuum chamber under a pressure of 710 torr for 15 min and then immersed in India ink under vacuum for 24 h. The teeth were allowed to passively stain for 4 days and were cleared and evaluated for linear dye leakage using a binocular dissecting microscope. Statistical analysis revealed that sealer significantly improves the apical seal of laterally condensed gutta-percha. However, the apical seal exhibited by Ketac-Endo was not significantly different from that provided by Roth's 801 sealer.