In vitro sealing ability of white and gray mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and white Portland cement used as apical plugs.

This study evaluated the sealing ability of apical plugs made of white and gray MTA-Angelus and white Portland cement placed via the root canal and having different thicknesses (2, 5 and 7 mm). Ninety extracted human single-rooted teeth were instrumented using a size 40 K-file to standardize the foraminal opening by the stepback technique. The teeth were assigned to 3 groups (n=30), according to the material used for fabrication of the apical plugs: A = gray MTA; B = white MTA; C = white Portland cement.