EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT ROOT CANAL OBTURATION TECHNIQUES AND TWO DIFFERENT POST SYSTEMS ON APICAL LEAKAGE

The aim of this study was to evaluate two different root canal obturation techniques (lateral condensation and thermoplasticised injectable guttapercha techniques) and two different post systems (cast and prefabricated posts) on apical leakage. a total of 60 extracted single-rooted maxillary incisor teeth with straight roots, and without resorption were used in this study. the root canals were prepared according to a step-back technique. eight teeth served as control (positive and negative controls). remaining 52 teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups of 13 teeth each. the root canals were obturated with lateral condensation technique in groups 1 and 2, obturated with thermoplasticised injectable guttapercha technique in groups 3 and 4. after obturation of the root canals, post space preparation was accomplished. while prefabricated posts were used in groups 1 and 4, cast posts were used, in groups 2 and 3. after sample preparation, the root surfaces were coated with a double layer of nail varnish, with the exception of the apical 2 mm, and immersed in indian ink for 7 days. dye penetration at the apical level was assessed by clearing technique. obtained data were compared with one-way anova and kruskal-wallis tests (p=0.05). no significant difference was found between the groups (p>0.05). however, canals obturated with dia-gun system showed less mean dye leakage than canals obturated with lateral condensation technique.