Comparison of Apical Sealing Capacity of ActiV GP/Glass Ionomer Sealer Versus Resilon/RealSeal and Gutta Percha/AH plus Sealers.

Background: In recent years, concerns have arisen regarding the sealing efficacy of traditional root canal obturation materials such as gutta-percha (GP) and various sealers. The resin-based obturation complexes like RealSeal (SybronEndo, Orange, CA) and Resilon (Resilon Research LLC, Madison, CT) had been developed as replacements for conventional obturation materials, gutta-percha, and various types of sealers. Additionally, ActiV GP (Brasseler USA, Savannah, GA), a glass-ionomer-based obturation system, has gained attention.

Aim: This in vitro study's objective was to evaluate ActiV GP/GI (glass ionomer) sealer's sealing capacity and compare it to that of Resilon/RealSeal  as well as gutta-percha/AH Plus (Dentsply International Inc, York, PA) taken as a control.

Methods And Materials: In this in vitro investigation, 90 freshly excised single-rooted human premolars of the mandible were chosen. According to the substance used to seal the root canals, the teeth were randomly separated into three separate groups (n=30). Group 1: The ActiV GP obturation system was used to seal and obturate the canals. Group 2: Resilon/RealSealwas used to obturate and block the canals. Group 3: GP points and AH Plus were used to seal the canals employing the lateral condensation methodology. All of the root surfaces-aside from the last 2 mm of the root-were painted with two coats of nail polish before being submerged in 2% methylene blue for a duration of 24 hours at a temperature of 37°C. The highest amount of dye leakage was determined using a stereomicroscope at 20X magnification.

Results: The extent of dye penetration at the apical region in specimens of the ActiV GP category was 4.93±1.48 mm. The depth of dye penetration at the apical region in specimens of the Resilon category was 2.78 ±1.62 mm. The extension of penetration of dye was 0.48± 0.46 mm in specimens of the GP/AH Plus category. The degree of microlikeage was maximum in ActiV GP specimens and it was minimum in GP/AH Plus specimens. The microlikeage in specimens of the Resilon category was greater than GP/AH plus while it was lower than ActiV GP specimens. The observations were statistically meaningful (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Based on the results of the dye penetration examination, it can be concluded that the root canal wall sealing capabilities of ActiV GP with GI Sealer were inferior to those of GP/AH Plus and Resilon with RealSeal.