Comparison of microleakage in three different retrograde cavity preparations with Mineral Trioxide Aggregate as filling material

Background: The apical seal is the single most important factor in determining the success of surgical endodontics, the aim of this study was to compare the sealing ability of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate in three different cavity designs. Materials and Methods: Thirty extracted human single-rooted teeth were divided into three groups of ten teeth per group, a retrograde cavity preparation was carried out using a low speed handpiece and round bur with parallel walls in the first group, ultrasonic retrotip and unit in the second group and a low speed handpiece with a carbide inverted cone bur with undercuts in the third group, all the cavities were filled with MTA. microleakage was measured by dye penetration technique using methylene blue. Results: the third group showed the best sealing ability, followed by the first group while the second group showed the least sealing ability, the differences were statistically significant (p<o.o5). Conclusion: retrograde cavities prepared with inverted cone bur and low speed handpiece showed the best sealing ability probably due to the increased surface area between the walls of the cavity and the filling material.