the effect of irrigating solutions on the apical sealing ability of mta fillapex and adseal root canal sealers

background. maximum sealing ability or adhesion of endodontic sealers can be achieved after an effective removal of smear layer. endodontic irrigants assist in adequate removal of smear layer and thus improve the retention mechanism. the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different root canal irrigating solutions (5.25% naocl followed by 17% edta and qmix) on the apical sealing ability of two different root canal sealers (mta fillapex and adseal). method. forty-six single canal teeth were divided into 4 experimental groups of 10 teeth each and a positive and negative group of 3 teeth each. the root canals were prepared using step-back technique. teeth in group 1 and 2 were irrigated with 5.25% naocl followed by 17% edta and teeth in group 3 and 4 were irrigated with qmix. finally all teeth were flushed with sterile saline and dried using paper points. obturation was accomplished by gutta percha using lateral condensation technique. mta fillapex sealer was used in group 1 and 3 where as adseal was used in group 2 and 4. dye penetration method was used to evaluate apical leakage. data were analysed by kruskal-wallis and mann-whitney u test using spss 14 software (significant level was considered at p < 0.05). results. group 3 showed maximum amount of apical leakage (3.7±0.3 mm) whereas group 2 showed least amount of apical leakage (2.1±0.4 mm) among all the experimental groups. significant differences were found in the amount of apical leakage among all the groups (p = 0.00001) conclusion. within the limitations of this study, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite followed by 17% edta and adseal combination showed best apical seal.