Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) using intermittent or continuous flushing and conventional manual irrigation (CMI) on the cleaning of main and simulated lateral root canals.MATERIAL AND METHOD: The root canals of 24 artificial teeth were prepared and simulated lateral canals were made in the medium and apical thirds of the root. The specimens were divided into three groups: G1- CMI, G2- PUI 1 (intermittent flushing) and G3- PUI 2 (continuous flushing). Root canals were filled with contrast solution and the roots were radiographed pre- and post-irrigation. The digital images were transferred to Image Tool 3.0 software and the areas of root canal completely filled with contrast, and after irrigation with contrast remnant, were measured to obtain percentage data. Statistical analysis between groups was performed by ANOVA and Tukey tests.RESULT: In the apical third, G2 and G3 (PUI) groups showed higher percentage of cleaning than G1 (CMI) (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: Passive ultrasonic irrigation using intermittent flushing promoted a higher cleaning of simulated lateral canals than conventional manual irrigation in the apical third. There were no differences between groups in the main root canal and the middle third.
Highlights
The persistence of microorganisms and their products within the root canal system is the main etiologic factor of periradicular pathology[1,2,3]
Passive Ultrasonic Irrigation (PUI), used as a final irrigation protocol, has demonstrated efficacy on the removal of debris and microorganisms when compared to conventional manual irrigation (CMI) using syringe and needle[4,8,9,10,11,12]
The results demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference among groups regarding to the efficacy of contrast solution removal from the main root canal (p>0.05)
Summary
The persistence of microorganisms and their products within the root canal system is the main etiologic factor of periradicular pathology[1,2,3]. The efficacy of root canal irrigation depends on the method employed[4], enabling cleaning of the main and lateral canals as well as the isthmus area[4,6,7,8]. De Gregorio et al.[6] evaluated the effects of PUI within main and simulated lateral root canals in singlerooted cleared human teeth. Rödig et al.[14] assessed PUI efficacy on removing dentin debris from simulated irregularities in root canals, and showed greater debris removal for PUI comparing with CMI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of passive ultrasonic irrigation by using two methods of irrigation solution flushing (continuous or intermittent) on the cleaning of main and simulated lateral root canals in the medium and apical thirds. The null hypothesis is that the action of cleaning by both methods of passive irrigation shows similarity in relation to conventional manual irrigation
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