title: Porosity and sealing ability of root fillings with gutta-percha and BioRoot RCS or AH Plus sealers. Evaluation by three ex vivo methods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the ability of BioRoot RCS, a tricalcium silicate-based root canal sealer and AH Plus to effectively fill the root canals of contralateral teeth using three evaluation methods, and to investigate also the correlation between the methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  The prepared root canals of ten pairs of contralateral mandibular premolar teeth were filled with gutta-percha and sealer using lateral compaction. The percentage of voids within the root canal was assessed by micro-computed tomography, whilst sealing ability was investigated by fluid transport and leakage of fluorescent microspheres. The interaction of sealer with dentine, and sealer penetration were assessed by confocal microscopy. The void volume, fluid flow, microsphere leakage and sealer interaction with dentine for both materials were compared. Nonparametric (Mann-Whitney) tests were used to compare the % void and fluid transport of the two sealers. Spearman correlation was used to assess the pairwise relationships between the techniques. The level of significance was set to 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BioRoot RCS exhibited significantly more percentage of voids than AH Plus. There was no difference in fluid flow and microsphere penetration. BioRoot RCS exhibited a different pattern of sealer penetration and interaction with the dentine walls compared to AH Plus. For both materials, the pairwise correlations between the three techniques were close to zero, indicating weak relationships.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MicroCT analysis revealed a higher void volume for BioRoot RCS. The other techniques did not show a difference between the sealing ability of the sealers. The correlation between the three ex vivo methods of assessment was weak demonstrating their complementarity rather than their concordance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Araraquara Dental School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Viapiana
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontology, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Moinzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Faculty of Science, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Camilleri
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontology, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Wesselink
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Araraquara Dental School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanomaru Filho
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Camilleri
mesh_terms: D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006171:Gutta-Percha; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods; D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D012387:Root Canal Filling Materials; D017640:Silicates; D006171:Gutta-Percha; C031293:calcium silicate
keywords: BioRoot RCS; contralateral teeth; fluid transport; leakage studies; micro-computed tomography; tricalcium silicate