Marginal adaptation of three root-end filling materials in cavities prepared with laser and ultrasonic tips: an in vitro comparative study.

Objectives: This study evaluated the marginal adaptation of ProRoot MTA (Dentsply Tulsa Dental), Biodentine (Septodont), and TotalFill BC RRM (FKG) placed in root-end cavities prepared with ultrasonic or Er,Cr:YSGG laser tips, using scanning electron microscopy.

Methods: The canals of 90 extracted maxillary central incisors were prepared and obturated and their roots resected. Six groups of 15 specimens were allocated as follows: ultrasonic + ProRoot MTA, ultrasonic + Biodentine, ultrasonic + TotalFill, laser + ProRoot MTA, laser + Biodentine, and laser + TotalFill. Roots were sectioned longitudinally to expose the filling material. Apical and coronal micrographs were taken, and the greatest distance between dentin and filling material was measured. The total gap area was also calculated using further micrographs.

Results: Cavities prepared with the ultrasonic tips and filled with Biodentine showed significantly greater gap dimensions compared with TotalFill (p < 0.001) and ProRoot MTA (p = 0.007) in the apical region. The ultrasonic group showed significantly higher void values compared to the laser group for ProRoot MTA (p = 0.026), when comparing the total values of void. The Biodentine group was significantly higher than the TotalFill group in root-end cavities prepared with ultrasonic tips (p < 0.001). The Biodentine group was significantly higher than the ProRoot MTA group in root-end cavities prepared with the laser tip (p = 0.002).

Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, it was determined that the root-end cavity preparation technique had an effect on the amount of gaps formed between the dentin and the three filling materials.