Sealing ability and obturation quality of root canals filled with gutta‑percha and two different sealers

Aim To evaluate sealing ability and quality of obturation when canal filled with gutta‑percha and either mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), or AH Plus sealer with detection of any possible correlation between microleakage and voids. Materials and methods Human freshly extracted 30 maxillary one‑rooted teeth were prepared and assigned to experimental groups (n = 10), designated as group I: gutta‑percha/AH Plus, group II: gutta‑percha/MTA sealer, group III positive control group (n = 5) teeth unobturated, group IV: negative control group (n = 5) teeth obturated with gutta‑percha, AH Plus sealer. After obturation, each tooth was prepared for fluid filtration assessment. Voids detection was performed through cross‑sectional analysis at three root levels. Data were analyzed using one‑way analysis of variance at a level of confidence of 95%. Results None of the tested obturation systems was able to provide leak proof filling. The sealing ability of MTA FillApex sealer showed higher parameters than AH Plus sealer even if it was not significant. The lowest percent of voids was recorded at the apical third for both tested sealers. The correlation between leakage and voids percentage was nonsignificant. Conclusion Calcium silicate root canal sealer (MTA FillApex) and AH Plus sealer can provide adequate seal with low voids percent. None of the root canal filled teeth were gap‑free. Voids percentage cannot be used as an indicator for sealing ability.