The Quality of Root Canal Preparation in Canals Treated with Rotary versus Self-adjusting Files: A Three-Dimensional Micro-Computed Tomography Study

Background and Objectives: The study was designed to quantitatively evaluate the quality of root canal preparation in canals treated with either rotary (ProTaper Next) or self adjusting files (SAF), using high resolution three-dimensional micro–computed tomographic (Micro-CT) analysis Methods : twenty extracted single canal tooth were selected, the root canal divided in 2 groups. In the first group, the root canal instrumented by using ProTaper Next rotary system and the root canal irrigated with 4ml of NaOCl after each instrument. The root canals in the second group were prepared using SAF for 2min, with continuous irrigation (NaOCl), after rescanning, the area of the canal wall unaffected by the preparation procedure was analyzed using before and after micro-CT images. Result: A high percentage of unaffected root canal walls were found in canals treated with rotary files, with no significant difference between two groups. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, the self-adjusting files allowed better cleaning and shaping of the root canal filling than those allowed by rotary files.