Assessment of Tubular Penetration Depth of Two Bioceramic Root Canal Sealers After Different Obturation Techniques (An in vitro study)

Aim: This study aimed to compare the tubular penetration depth following obturation with different sealers and obturation techniques using confocal laser scanning microscope. Methodology: A total of forty-four freshly extracted single rooted teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the obturation technique: Group I: Obturation with TotalFill BC Sealer using single cone technique; Group II: Obturation with TotalFill BC Sealer HiFlow using warm vertical compaction technique; Group III: Obturation with TotalFill BC Sealer using warm vertical compaction technique; and Group IV: Obturation with TotalFill BC Sealer HiFlow using single cone technique. Each sample was sectioned perpendicular to its long axis at 3, 5, and 7 mm from the apex. All samples were examined using confocal laser scanning microscope. The sealer penetration depth was measured by recording the distance from the canal wall to the location of deepest visible sealer penetration at four standardized points (12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock) corresponding to the buccal, mesial, lingual and distal aspects. The average mean of these four measurements were then calculated to obtain one result for each section. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's post hoc test with Bonferroni correction for intergroup comparisons and Friedman's test followed by Nemenyi post hoc test for intragroup comparisons. The significance level was set at p<0.05 within all tests. Results: Intergroup comparisons revealed that within the coronal section there was a significant difference between tested groups, with groups (II) and (III) having significantly higher values than groups (I) and (IV).