Apical Microleakage of Obturated Canals with Apical Plug and Customized Cone Techniques in Open Apices Models

Statement of problem: Management of open apices teeth is one of the most serious problems for dentists. Contemporary endodontics proceeds to single step techniques such as apical plug and customized cone for management of these cases. The purpose of this study was to compare apical microleakage between customized cone and apical plug techniques on open apices polyester made root canals. In this in vitro experimental study, 68 clear models were made from polyester in two different forms: S models (round canals), and L models (oval canals). Thirty models (15 S and 15 L) were obturated with customized cone technique and 30 models (15 S and 15 L) were obturated with apical plug technique using Ca(OH)2 as an apical barrier. Eight models were considered as positive and negative control groups. Models were immersed in methylene blue for 48 hours and maximum linear dye penetration of each was measured by three separate observers. Student t test was used for statistical analysis of the findings. The results illustrated that the mean leakage of the customized cone group was statistically greater than apical plug group (p<0.05). In addition, when comparing L and S models in customized group, L models showed more linear leakage than S models (p<0.05), but this difference was not significant in apical plug technique. The finding of this study indicated that the apical plug technique, when using Ca(OH)2 plug as a barrier may produce a better apical seal than the customized cone technique in short term.