A Comparative Study on the Shaping Ability of K3, Profile and ProTaper Instruments in Simulated Curved Root Canals

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to compare the shaping ability of three rotary filing systems; constant taper K3 instruments, constant taper ProFile instruments and progressive taper ProTaper rotary instruments in clear resin blocks with simulated curved root canals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty five resin blocks were divided into three groups. Group A preparation was conducted with K3, Group B with ProFile and Group C with ProTaper instruments. Pre and post instrumentation images were superimposed and assessment of the canal shape was completed with a computer image analysis program at 14 levels of the root canal system. RESULTS: Group A inner and outer curvature pre and post instrumentation values were significantly different (P<0.05) at levels 3; at level 13 only the outer curvature and levels 6, 7, 8 the inner curvature had significantly different values between pre and post instrumentation. Group C had significant P values (P<0.05) at levels 2, 3, 4, 12, 13 in the outer curvature and at levels 6, 7, 8 of the inner curvature. CONCLUSION: Overall, all three rotary instruments maintained root canal curvatures well. ProTaper instruments significantly removed more resin material from outer canal curvature in the apical third when compared to the other two groups

Photoactivated disinfection (PAD) of dental root canal system – An ex-vivo study

AbstractAimTo investigate the efficacy of photo activated disinfection (PAD) in reducing colony-forming unit (CFU) counts of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) in infected dental root canals. The study compared the efficacy of PAD with conventional endodontic treatment (CET) and also a combination of CET along with PAD.Material and Methods53 maxillary incisors were taken for the study. Teeth were divided into 3 groups, CET (Group I) (n=11), PAD (Group II) (n=21), and a combination of CET and PAD (Group III) which consisted of (n=21) samples, Group II and Group III were further divided into 2 subgroups, Group IIa, IIb and Group IIIa, IIIb. Strains of E. faecalis were inoculated in all the root canals. CET group samples were treated by chemo-mechanical preparation (CMP) alone, PAD samples were treated with laser alone at 2 different exposure time (4min and 2min). In the combination treatment, samples were treated initially by CET and then by PAD for a time period of 4min and 2min. Contents of the root canal were aspirated, diluted and plated in Tryptone Soya Broth (TSB) and plates were incubated for 24h to observe the bacterial regrowth.ResultsShowed PAD used along with CMP reduced the bacterial load of E. faecalis by 99.5% at 4min and 98.89% at 2min.ConclusionPAD may be an adjunctive procedure to kill residual bacteria in the dental root canal systems after standard endodontic root canal preparation

Spiral CT diagnosis and endodontic management of an anatomically variant palatal root with two canals in a maxillary first molar

This case report presents the endodontic management of an anatomically variant palatal root with 2 canals (Vertucci type II) in a maxillary first molar, which was confirmed with the help of spiral computed tomography (SCT). This serves to remind clinicians that such anatomic variations should be taken into account during the endodontic treatment of maxillary molars and highlights the invaluable aid of the SCT in accurate diagnosis and in negotiating the complex morphologic variations in root canals, thus enabling successful endodontic management

Independent and Confluent Middle Mesial Root Canals in Mandibular First Molars: A Report of Four Cases

Mandibular molars demonstrate considerable variations with respect to number of roots and root canals. The possibility of additional root canals should be considered even in teeth with a low frequency of abnormal root canal anatomy. This paper discusses the endodontic management of the rare anatomical complexity middle mesial canals in mandibular first molar and also serves to remind the clinicians that such anatomical variations should be taken into account during the endodontic treatment of the mandibular molars