Comparison of uninstrumented areas of oval root canals with circumferential filing using different rotary files

Abstract

Mechanical preparation of an oval root canal is challenging due to the irregular shape, which results in some areas left uninstrumented. This study compared the uninstrumented areas of oval root canals with circumferential filing using two different files. Thirty-two mandibular premolars were dyed with China ink and then cleaned with the Mtwo® or ProTaper Next® file. The uninstrumented areas were analyzed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 and ImageJ software. There were no significant differences between two files, although the uninstrumented areas were smaller with the use of the ProTaper Next® vs. the Mtwo® file (p = 0.231). There were uninstrumented areas of the oval root canal with both the Mtwo® and ProTaper Next® files.