Filling capacity of three resin-based root canal sealers

Objectives:, The aim of this experiment is to present a standardized model to evaluate the filling capacity of a sealer to obturate lateral canals. Methods:, Thirty epoxy-resin, straight, 16 mm long simulated root canals were used for this test. Samples were prepared up to a size 35, taper .06 instrument. These simulated canals had one lateral canal on each side (0.13 mm diameter), located 1 mm from the apex and perpendicular to the main canal. Patency of the lateral canals was checked and the simulated canals were obturated with three different epoxy-based root canal sealers, according to manufacturer's instructions and using the lateral condensation technique. Group 1 received Sealer 26 (Dentsply, Brazil); Group 2 was obturated with RealSeal (SybronEndo, USA) and Group 3 received Endo-REZ (Ultradent, USA) as root canal sealer. The simulated root canals were examined digitally and the percentage of sealer in each lateral canal was recorded. Results:, Non-parametric statistical analysis revealed differences between Endo-REZ, with the lowest percentages of filling, and Sealer 26 and RealSeal, statistically similar and with the higher percentages of sealer inside the lateral canals (Kruskal-Wallis, p < 0.001). Conclusions:, It can be concluded that RealSeal and Sealer 26 obturate more efficiently simulated lateral canals than EndoREZ.