Penetration of Epiphany, Epiphany Self-Etch, and AH Plus into Dentinal Tubules: A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to measure the average depth of dentinal tubule sealer penetration in the middle third of teeth obturated with gutta-percha/AH Plus (Dentsply, DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany), Resilon/Epiphany (Pentron Clinical Technologies, Wallingford, CT), and Resilon/Epiphany self-etch (SE) using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Methods: The root canals of 36 extracted single-rooted human teeth were prepared and randomly divided into three groups. Obturations were performed with the following filling materials using the lateral compaction technique: group 1, gutta-percha/AH Plus; group 2, Resilon/Epiphany; and group 3, Resilon/Epiphany SE. The specimens were prepared for SEM examination. The average depth of sealer penetration into the dentinal tubules was measured. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and a post hoc Tukey test. Results: The mean (+/- standard deviation) values for the average depth of sealer penetration in the middle third of the roots were 22.07 +/- 6.92 mu m, 31.56 +/- 6.80 mu m, and 21.50 +/- 9.25 mu m for AH Plus, Epiphany, and Epiphany SE, respectively. The average penetration depth of Epiphany was significantly higher than that of Epiphany SE and AH Plus (P < .05). There was no significant difference between the penetration depth of Epiphany SE and AH Plus (P > .05). Conclusions: It could be concluded that the average penetration for Epiphany into dentinal tubules within the middle third of the roots was significantly deeper than that of Epiphany SE and AH Plus. (J Endod 2011;37:1316-1319)