Determination of the minimum instrumentation size for penetration of irrigants to the apical third of root canal systems

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum instrumentation size required for the effective penetration of irrigants and elimination of debris and smear layer from the apical third of the root canals. The mesiobuccal canals of 40 freshly extracted human mandibular first molar teeth were instrumented using the crown-down technique. The teeth were divided into four test groups according to the size of their Master Apical File (#20, #25, #30, #35), and two control groups. After final irrigation, the removal of debris and smear layer from the apical third of root canals was determined under a scanning electron microscope. The data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Based on the results, it appears that the minimum instrumentation size needed for penetration of irrigants to the apical third of the root canal is a #30 file.