A Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope Investigation of the Epiphany Obturation System

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the sealer-dentin interface and compare the percentage and average depth of dentinal tubule sealer penetration in the coronal, middle and apical thirds of teeth obturated with the Epiphany Obturation System using 10x and 40x confocal laser scanning microscopy. Ten anterior teeth were instrumented and obturated with Resilon points and Epiphany sealer labeled with fluorescent Rhodamine B isothiocyanate dye. Two-millimeter sections cut from the coronal, middle and apical thirds of each root were viewed using 10x and 40x confocal laser scanning microscopy. A consistent fluorescent sealer ring was seen around the canal wall in all sections. No gaps or definitive hybrid layer were observed in the sealer-dentin interface, however a 1-1.5 microm wide high fluorescence zone was detected. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests showed significantly less percentage of sealer penetration in apical sections than middle or coronal sections (p<0.05). The Kruskal-Wallis test and post-hoc tests found significantly lower average depth of sealer penetration in apical sections than middle or coronal sections (p<0.05).