Comparison of sealing ability of Geristore and Mineral trioxide aggregate as root-end filling material in dry and saliva-contaminated environment

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sealing capabilities of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Geristore as retrograde filling materials in dry and saliva-contaminated environments. METHODOLOGY: Seventy-two extracted single-rooted premolars were included. Root canals were prepared and obturated following decoronation. Each root's apical 3 mm was removed, and via ultrasonic tips, uniform retrograde cavities were created. The teeth were divided into four groups (n = 18) at random: MTA dry, MTA wet, Geristore dry, and Geristore wet. After that, samples were submerged in methylene blue dye (1%) for 48 h. A stereomicroscope was used to examine the longitudinally sectioned roots at a magnification of 25.6×. The linear penetration of dye was measured using ImageJ software. Tukey's post hoc test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in SPSS data analysis. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA demonstrated a significant difference in dye penetration among the four groups (p < 0.001). In both dry (0.64 ± 0.42 mm) and wet (0.65 ± 0.32 mm) conditions, Geristore demonstrated similar sealing ability (p = 1.000). In contrast, MTA exhibited significantly lower dye penetration in dry conditions (0.47 ± 0.21 mm) than in wet conditions (1.13 ± 0.26 mm; p < 0.001), with the wet MTA group demonstrating the greatest microleakage. CONCLUSION: Geristore demonstrated consistent sealing ability irrespective of environmental conditions. Although MTA performed similarly in dry conditions, its sealing ability was significantly compromised by salivary contamination. Geristore may therefore be a more reliable root-end filling material when moisture control is difficult.