Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: Inadequate root canal obstruction has been suggested as major factor in endodontic treatment failure. On the other hand, the most common way to assess leakage is dye penetration method. In assessing the possible effect of cutting direction on the leakage, the present study was performed to investigate dye penetration in two root cutting directions.

Materials and Methods: Forty human teeth with a single root canal were used in this experimental study. Endodontic treatment was performed on the specimens and then stained with 2% methylene blue solution. The specimens were divided into two groups. Specimens in the first group were sectioned in the buccolingual dimension and the second group in the mesiodistal to evaluate the microleakage. The amount of dye penetration was measured under the stereomicroscope with a magnification of 40%. Data were statistically analyzed using Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) and Mann- Whitney tests.

Results: The average amount of leakage in the buccolingual and mesiodistal dimension were, 3.78±2.08 and 2.43±1.55 mm, respectively. There was statistically significant difference between the mean leakage of two dimensions (P=0.03).

Conclusion: Since the leakages in the buccolingual and mesiodistal dimensions were different, it was concluded that cutting direction could be an effective factor on the result of microleakage assessment.