Effect of Intracanal Glass-Ionomer Barrier Thickness on Microleakage in Coronal Part of Root in Endodontically Treated Teeth: an In Vitro Study

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The most common cause of endodontic treatment failures is improper coronal sealing. Therefore, besides to proper root sealing, coronal sealing which is supported by a proper restoration has a major role in endodontic treatment success, and coronal microleakage should be considered as an etiologic factor in endodontic treatment failure. Glass-ionomer (GI) has been proposed as a coronal barrier for microleakage after endodontic treatment. PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the coronal microleakage in GI-obturated root canals in endodontically treated teeth using different thicknesses of GI. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this in vitro study, forty-five single-rooted extracted human teeth with single canals were collected and disinfected with 0.5% chloramine solution. After endodontic treatment, teeth were divided into 3 groups. In the group 1 to 3, 1 to 3mm of gutta-percha was removed and GI was replaced at 1-, 2- and 3-mm thicknesses respectively. Then subgroups were placed in methylene blue dye and the microleakage was assessed using dye penetration. RESULTS: The mean dye penetration in groups 1, 2 and 3 were 5.1, 3.7 and 2.9, respectively, with statistically significant differences. Group 1 exhibited the highest amount of dye penetration while group 3 showed the least one. Moreover, a significant difference between groups 1 and 2 (p= 0.002) and a non-significant difference between groups 2 and 3 (p= 0.098) was detected in mean dye penetration. CONCLUSION: Thicker layers of GI might decrease the coronal microleakage. GI at 3-mm thickness resulted in the best protective effect on coronal microleakage in endodontically treated teeth, though further studies are needed to confirm these results.