Impact of the final agitation system in the irrigant diffusion inside the root canal: A micro-CT analysis

This study evaluated, through micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), the volume of irrigant diffusion by different techniques of final agitation. Sixty mesiobuccal canals were scanned in a micro-CT and standardised according to the volume. They were instrumented with the MTwo 40/04 system and using the Terebrix 35 contrast solution as irrigant, were divided into six groups (n = 10): Conventional irrigation with syringe and needle (CI), EndoActivator (EA), EasyClean (EC), RinsEndo (RE), Utrasonic agitation (UI) and XP-Clean (XP). A second micro-CT scan was performed and the total irrigant volume and in the final 3 mm apical were determined. The data were analysed using the Anova, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests (p < 0.05). UI and XP showed a higher percentage of total diffusion than CI, EA and RS groups (p < 0.05). In apical diffusion, there was no significant difference between groups (p > 0.05). The final agitation system increases the diffusion of irrigating agents inside the root canal.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the volume of irrigant diffusion by different techniques of final agitation using micro-computed tomography. The results showed that the groups with ultrasonic agitation and XP-Clean had significantly higher total diffusion than the groups with conventional injection, EndoActivator, and RinsEndo.