Influence of pH change and water storage on the sealing ability of two resin-based root-filling materials.

Aim: To evaluate the Influence of pH change and water storage up to 90 days on the sealing ability of two resin-based root-filling materials.
Materials and Methods: Forty-four human mandibular single-rooted teeth were instrumented and filled with gutta-percha/ AH Plus or Resilon/Epiphany SE (n=20 per group). Two teeth each were used as positive and negative controls. Specimens were set for 7 days under 100% humidity at 37°C. They were allocated into two subgroups (n=10) according to whether they were tested immediately or stored for up to 90 days in water before testing. Sealing ability was evaluated by passive dye penetration. Absorbance at 630 nm (in μg/ml) was measured by spectrophotometry. The pH values were obtained in triplicate. Data were submitted to ANOVA by post-hoc Tukey's test (α=0.05).
Results: Specimens filled with Resilon/Epiphany SE exhibited more leakage than specimens filled with gutta-percha/AH Plus at the immediate time point (p<0.001). No differences were detected between the groups after storage, or between the materials with pH changes after 30, 60 and 90 days (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Gutta-percha/AH Plus provided superior sealing at the immediate time point. Water storage and pH changes did not Influence the sealing ability of tested materials.
Clinical Significance: These results suggest that Resilon/ Epiphany SE sealer offered no apparent advantage over the more conventional gutta-percha/AH Plus sealer technique in terms of sealing ability.