Evaluation of Debris Extruded Apically during the Removal of Root Canal Filling Material Using ProTaper, D-RaCe, and R-Endo Rotary Nickel-Titanium Retreatment Instruments and Hand Files

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the amount of debris extruded apically during the removal of root canal filling material using ProTaper (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland), D-RaCe (FKG Dentaire, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland), and R-Endo (Micro-Mega, Besancon, France) nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary retreatment instruments and hand files. Methods: Sixty extracted single-rooted mandibular premolar teeth were prepared with K-files and filled with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer (Dentsply DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany). The teeth were then randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 15 for each group) for retreatment. The removal of canal filling material was performed as follows: hand files, ProTaper, D-RaCe, and R-Endo retreatment instruments. Debris extruded apically during the removal of canal filling material was collected into preweighed Eppendorf tubes. The tubes were then stored in an incubator at 70 degrees C for 5 days. The weight of the dry extruded debris was established by subtracting the preretreatment and postretreatment weight of the Eppendorf tubes for each group. The data obtained were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey post hoc tests. Results: All retreatment techniques caused the apical extrusion of debris. Hand files produced significantly more debris when compared with ProTaper, D-RaCe, and R-Endo rotary systems (P < .05). There was no statistical difference between the ProTaper, D-RaCe, and R-Endo retreatment systems (P > .05). Conclusions: The findings showed that during the removal of root canal filling material, rotary NiTi retreatment instruments used in this study caused less apical extrusion of debris compared with hand files.