Micro-CT comparative evaluation of porosity and dentin adaptation of root end filling materials applied with incremental, bulk, and ultrasonic activation techniques.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different application methods on the adaptation to dentin and porosity properties of calcium silicate based materials. This study included 72 maxillary canine teeth that had been extracted for various reasons. Following the root canal treatment, root, end resections were performed on the specimens. After the apicectomy, 3 mm deep cavities were created. All materials were mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Retrograde cavities were filled with RetroMTA [Group 1a-1c], Biodentine [Group 2a-2c] and BioAggregate [Group 3a-3c]. Placement techniques were applied for each material by using incremental, bulk technique and ultrasonic activation, respectively. The samples were scanned with the SkyScan 1272 μCT system. Porosity values were higher in bulk fill and incremental placement techniques than ultrasonic technique when using MTA and BioAggregate ( p  < 0.05), but Biodentine showed no statistically significant difference ( p  > 0.05) on using different placement techniques. The ultrasonic activation technique is beneficial to improve the condensation quality of MTA and BioAggregate. Biodentine showed better results regardless of different application techniques.