Background: Endodontic obturating materials should form monoblocks, reinforcing the treated teeth against fracture.
Aim: To evaluate and compare the effect of two resin sealers and a MTA sealer on the fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth.
Materials and methods: Fifty single-rooted mandibular premolars, decoronated at cemento-enamel junction, were divided into 5 groups (n = 10 each). Group 1 and group 2 served as negative and positive controls. Cleaning and shaping of root canals was done using ProTaper rotary files and 3% sodium hypochlorite irrigation. Obturation was done using AH plus (Dentsply, Germany) (group 3), MetaSEAL (Parkell, USA) (group 4), MTA Fillapex (Angeles, Brazil) (group 5) sealers and gutta-percha. Teeth were subjected to vertical loading using a universal testing machine and the point at which fracture of the roots occurred was recorded. The data was subjected to statistical analysis using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by pair-wise comparison using Tukey's Post-hoc test.
Results: AH Plus showed better fracture resistance among the sealer groups. Statistically, no significant difference was found between MetaSEAL and Fillapex groups.
Conclusion: MTA Fillapex as a root canal sealer was not able to reinforce the tooth against fracture.
Keywords: Endodontic monoblocks; MTA; root canal sealers; universal testing machine; vertical root fracture.