Analysis of microgap for root canal filling material filled with a hydrophilic and hydrophobic obturating system

The microgap formation associated with hydrophilic and hydrophobic root canal obturation systems is of interest. Hence, thirty extracted human single-rooted teeth were randomly divided into two groups (n=15 each): Group I - obturated (Resilon with Epiphany sealer) and Group II - obturated hydrophobic system (Gutta-percha with AH Plus sealer). After obturation, the samples and microgaps were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at 2000x magnification. Group I (hydrophilic) showed a significantly lower mean microgap of 2.36 ± 0.52 µm, while Group II (hydrophobic) exhibited a higher mean microgap of 5.81 ± 0.89 µm. Thus, hydrophilic obturation systems showed superior sealing ability with minimal microgap formation compared to hydrophobic systems.