Effect of Er,Cr:YSGG-laser on the Apical Sealing of Calcium-silicate-containing Retrofillings

Methods: Extracted human single-rooted teeth (n=70) were instrumented with a crown-down technique, using a set of ProTaper rotary instruments (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). The root canals irrigated with 2-ml of 2.5% NaOCl and 2-ml of 17% EDTA between each instrument. The apical 3-mm of each instrumented root was resected 90° to the longitudinal axis of the root. Root-end preparations were made to a depth of 3-mm using ultrasonic tips (S12/90°D, Satelec, Merignac Cedex, France) powered by an ultrasonic unit (Suprasson P5 Booster; Satelec, F-33708, Merignac Cedex, France). Finally, the canals received either an extra 3-minute rinse with 5-ml of 17% EDTA or a 40-second Er,Cr:YSGG laser treatment (Biolase Technology, San Clement, CA, USA). The root-end cavities were filled with either mineral trioxide aggregate (ProRoot MTA; Dentsply Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK, USA) or iRoot BP bioceramic cement (Innovative Bioceramix Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada). Apical leakage quantity was measured by using a fluid filtration study design at 4 weeks. Statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test (α=0.05).

Results: EDTA/MTA combination exhibited the least microleakage, and laser irradiation/MTA combination ranked second in this regard. They both showed significantly lower microleakage values than EDTA/iRoot BP and laser irradiation/iRoot BP combinations (p<0.05). When the results for groups with the same filling materials were compared, there were no significant differences among samples treated with EDTA or laser (p>0.05).

Conclusions: The sealing ability of the iRoot BP cement is not superior to that of the MTA when used as root-end filling material in vitro. Er,Cr:YSGG laser treatment does not enhance the sealing ability of the filling materials compared with EDTA application.