THE EFFECT OF MICROSEAL OBTURATION TECHNIQUE ON THE APICAL SEAL OF ROOT CANALS

The purpose of this study was to compare the apical sealing effect of Microseal obturation technique with lateral condensation technique in 26 recently extracted single rooted teeth. The root canals were instrumented using step-back technique and obturated with laterally condensed gutta-percha or Microseal. Teeth were suspended in methylene blue dye for 2 days and then longitudinary splited. The apical microleakage and the adaptability of gutta-percha to the root canal wall were examined under a stereomicroscope at magnification. The results were as follows: 1. The mean leakage was 1.381.18 mm for laterally condensed gutta-percha group, and 0.710.57 mm for Microseal gutta-percha group. But there was no statistical difference between two groups. 2. In Microseal gutta-percha group, they showed no gap between the master cone and Microseal gutta-percha, and showed homogeneous mass. 3. In contrast, laterally condensed gutta-percha group showed some gaps not only between gutta-percha cones, but also between gutta-percha cones and the canal walls, and the gaps were filled with some sealer. And also this group showed some amout of sealer on the root canal walls, Within the limits of the results of this experiment, Microseal gutta-percha obturation technique demonstrated relatively favorable apical sealing effect and shorter obturation time. Thus, it is thought that this obturation technique is a acceptable method for clinical use but further studies on this matter should be conducted.