title: Stereomicroscopic Evaluation of Sealing Ability of Four Different Root Canal Sealers- An invitro Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The most commonly used core material for root canal filling is gutta-percha and as the gutta-percha by itself cannot obturate the complete root canal system, owing to its poor sealing properties hence, a sealer is used in combination with root filling material. Sealer is more important than the core obturating material. Sealer plays a secondary role by merely reinforcing (binding or luting) the gutta-percha to the canal walls, however, it is now confirmed that the sealer has a prime role in sealing the canal by blocking the irregularities between the canal space and the core filling material.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effectiveness of the apical seal obtained by different sealers used in conjugation with cold lateral condensation technique of obturation using gutta-percha under stereomicroscope.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred single-rooted extracted human permanent teeth with a single root canal were used in this in-vitro study. The sealers tested were conventional Zinc oxide eugenol sealer, Apexit, AH-Plus and Roekoseal Automix (RSA). The specimens were examined under a stereomicroscope. For the analysis of data Snedocor's F test for the quality of variances among the experimental group and control group (One-Way ANOVA) were employed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The polydimethylsiloxane endodontic root canal sealer RSA provided a significantly better apical seal followed by AH plus and Apexit whereas conventional zinc oxide eugenol showed the lowest sealing ability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was concluded that there were statistically significant differences amongst the experimental groups. The shrinkage related to setting and potential dissolution might risk the proper seal of the root canal leading to treatment failure.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Sri Aurobindo College of Dentistry and P.G Institute (SAIMS) and Hospital , Devi Ahilya University, Indore, M.P, India .
authors.forename: Pallav Mahesh
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Patni
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Sharad Pawar Dental College , Wardha, Maharashtra, India .
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chandak
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Sri Aurobindo College of Dentistry and P.G Institute (SAIMS) and Hospital, Devi Ahilya University , Indore, M.P, India .
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Consultant Dentist, Dr. Mahesh Chandra Patni Memorial Dental Clinic , Indore, M.P, India .
authors.forename: Mona Jain
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Patni
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Prosthodontics, Sri Aurobindo College of Dentistry , Indore, M.P, India .
authors.forename: Sumeet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Sri Aurobindo College of Dentistry , Indore, M.P, India .
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Senior Resident, Department of Facial Orthopaedics, KMC , Manglore, Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Vikas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jain
keywords: Apical microleakage; Gutta-percha; Root canal filling