Comparative evaluation of the fracture resistance of roots after the application of three different root canal sealers: AH Plus, MTA Fillapex, and BioRoot RCS: An in vitro study

Abstract

Introduction: Root canal fillings using Gutta-percha and root canal sealers are considered the gold standard in endodontics. Bondable root canal sealers help in strengthening the root by penetrating into the dentin. Aim: The aim was to compare and evaluate the fracture resistance of root dentin following the application of AH Plus sealer, MTA Fillapex sealer, and BioRoot RCS sealer. Materials and Methods: Decoronation was performed on 70 extracted single-rooted premolars at the cementoenamel junction. The samples were divided into three experimental and two control groups. Fourteen samples served as the negative control (Group 4), which were left unprepared. The remaining 56 samples were prepared with ProTaper rotary files up to F3. The roots were obturated using cold lateral compaction using Gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer (Group 1), MTA Fillapex (Group 2), and BioRoot RCS (Group 3). Group 5 served as the positive control group. A universal testing machine was used to compress the samples until fracture occurred. One-way analysis of variance with post hoc Tukey's test was used to analyze the data. Results and Discussion: The highest resistance to fracture was shown by Group 4 (negative control), followed by Group 1 (AH Plus), Group 3 (BioRoot RCS), Group 2 (MTA Fillapex), and the least by Group 5 (positive control). There was a statistically significant difference between all the groups (P = 0.00) except between AH Plus and BioRoot RCS (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Samples in all the groups fractured when vertical force was applied. The maximum resistance to fracture was shown by the roots which were neither instrumented nor obturated. AH plus sealer showed the highest resistance to fracture among the three experimental groups, followed by BioRoot RCS and MTA Fillapex.