RESUMO
This study compared the apical seal produced by four obturation techniques. Sixty-four extracted human teeth were prepared and obturated using lateral condensation of gutta-percha that was either unmodified or was dipped in chloroform, eucalyptol, or eucapercha paste. After storage in normal saline and 0.02% azide solution at 37 degrees C for 200 days, the teeth were immersed in India ink for 48 h. The most coronal extent of leakage of India ink into the canal was then determined. Significantly more apical leakage occurred in the eucapercha group than in the other three groups. All other comparisons were equivalent. The results suggest that modification of the gutta-percha master cone with solvent does not improve the apical seal in vitro. If modification is desired, then dipping the master cone in either eucalyptol or chloroform produces an apical seal superior to that achieved with eucapercha.