Effectiveness of Various Final Irrigation Techniques on Sealer Penetration in Curved Roots: A Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy Study
Ayča Yılmaz, Turgut Yağmur Yalçın, Dilek Helvacıoğlu-Yiğit
Abstract
Objective . To compare the efficacy of various techniques used for final irrigation on sealer penetration in the apical one‐third of curved root canals. Material and Methods . Sixty‐five freshly extracted maxillary first molar teeth with mesiobuccal roots having more than 20° of root curvature were used. The root canals were instrumented and randomly divided into four experimental groups and one control group. In the 4 experimental groups, 3 ml of 17% EDTA followed by 3 ml of 5.25% NaOCl was delivered with the use of the following protocols: Group 1: manual dynamic activation (MDA), Group 2: sonic irrigation (SI), Group 3: passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI), and Group 4: conventional needle irrigation (CI). All teeth were obturated with gutta‐percha and AH Plus sealer labeled with fluorescent dye. Transverse sections at 2 mm and 4 mm distance from the root apex were examined with the aid of confocal laser scanning microscopy. Total percentage (%) and maximum depth ( μ m) of sealer penetration were measured. Results . All the experimental groups exhibited significantly higher penetration rates than the control group at both sections ( p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the penetration depth and percentage among the four experimental groups evaluated at both sections ( p > 0.05). Conclusion . PUI, SI, and MDA did not significantly improve sealer penetration in the apical portion of curved root canals when compared to conventional needle irrigation.