The purpose of this study was to compare the sealing ability of root canal obturation with or without the use of dentin adhesive system. Forty extracted human teeth with one canal were selected and decoronated. The teeth were divided into two Groups. The obturation procedure of Group 1 was the same as that of Group 2 with the exception of dentin adhesive system. Group 2 were obturated with dentin adhesive system, AH-26, and gutta-percha.

After obturation, the teeth were immersed in methylene blue solution for 84 hours. The teeth were sectioned horizontally at 1.5 mm (Level 1), 2.0 mm (Level 2), 2.5 mm (Level 3) from the root apex using a low speed microtome. Distance of dye-penetrated surface and total dentinal surface were measured using SigmaScan Pro 5.0, and the ratio of dye-penetrated distance to the total dentinal distance was analyzed statistically by Mann-Whitney U-test.

In both groups, the mean leakage ratio was decreased cervically.