Longitudinal sealing ability of mineral trioxide aggregate as a root-end filling material

This study evaluated the ability of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) to seal the root end effectively. Seventy-six single-rooted, extracted human teeth were cleaned and shaped using a step-back technique. After root-end resection and ultrasonic preparation, 72 root sections were randomly allocated to three groups and filled with dental amalgam and cavity liner, Super-EBA, or MTA. Microleakage was assessed at 24 h, 72 h, 2 wk, 4 wk, 8 wk, and 12 wk, using a fluid filtration measurement system. MTA demonstrated excellent sealing ability throughout 12 wk of fluid immersion, comparable with that observed for Super-EBA. Microleakage in the MTA group, as well as the Super-EBA group, was significantly less (p < 0.05) than in the amalgam group at 24 h, 72 h, and 2 wk. At the subsequent periods, there were no significant differences among the three materials. In this study, MTA was determined to be superior to amalgam, and comparable with Super-EBA in preventing microleakage when used as a root-end filling.