Effect of irrigating solutions and Er:Yag laser on apical sealing of endodontically treated teeth

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate “in vitro”, the apical le- akage in filled root canals after three different root canal wall tre- atments and two endodontic sea- lers. Sixty-two maxillary incisors were used. The teeth were prepa- red by crown-down hand instru- mentation, under irrigation with 1 % sodium hypochlorite solution after each file. Two teeth were used as control group and were filled with gutta-percha points without sealer. The remaining teeth were divided into three groups. Group I : teeth sealed with Endo Fill root canal sealer (n=10) or Top Seal (n=10), with gutta-percha points and lateral condensation. Group II received a final irrigation with EDTA 17% for 5 minutes followed by root canal filling as in group I. Group III, root canal received Er:YAG laser irradiation (15 HZ, 140 mJ ans 42 J), followed by root canal filling as in group I. The le- akage was measured by Indian ink penetration and clarification method. The results showed tee- th sealed with Top Seal had lower level of apical leakage (p<0,01) than the ones sealed with Endo Fill. Teeth irrigated with EDTA 17% had also lower levels of api- cal leakage(p<0,01) than the other two groups, which were similar to each other. Key words: apical leakage, Er:Yag laser , endodontics