An in vitro comparison between the apical sealing abilities of resilon with Epiphany sealer and gutta-percha with AH plus sealer.

CONTEXT The study assesses the apical sealing ability of two obturating materials (resilon and gutta-percha) with their sealants by means of the dye penetration method using India ink. AIMS To compare the resistance to apical dye penetration between resilon (with Epiphany sealer; Epiphany, Pentron clinical technologies, USA) and gutta-percha (with AH Plus sealer; Dentsply, Maillefer, Germany). It was hypothesized that there would be no difference between the two groups with regard to apical dye penetration. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Hundred mandibular first premolars from individuals aged between 20 to 25 years were selected after their lengths were standardized. MATERIALS AND METHODS Instrumentation was performed with NiTi hand protaper files (Dentsply, Maillefer) using EDTA paste and copious irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite. Experimental group 1 consisted of roots that were treated with Epiphany primer and obturated with resilon (with Epiphany sealer). Experimental group 2 consisted of those obturated with gutta-percha using AH Plus sealer. The samples were immersed in blue India Ink and cleared using 5% nitric acid. Dye penetration was assessed under a stereomicroscope. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS Roots obturated with resilon core material and Epiphany sealer exhibited lesser mean apical dye penetration (1.281 mm; SD: 0.742) in comparison to those obturated with gutta-percha and AH plus sealer (2.154 mm; SD: 0.814). The difference was found to be highly significant (P<0.0025). CONCLUSION Resilon (with Epiphany sealer) provided better radicular apical sealing in comparison to gutta percha (with AH Plus sealer).