Effectiveness of a new endodontic irrigation system for removing smear layer and dissolving simulated organic matter

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to evaluate the potential for the dissolution of organic tissue in areas of simulated complexity and cleaning of root canal walls of the new iVac® endodontic irrigation system.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Thirty mandibular premolars were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy before and after biomechanical preparation. Then, they were distributed according to the final irrigation protocol into groups with conventional irrigation, ultrasonic agitation with metallic insert (UA), and iVac® system, and new photomicrographs were obtained. For tissue dissolution analysis, glass capillaries filled with catgut were attached to the cervical and apical thirds of twenty-one prototyped upper incisors. They were weighed before and after the previously mentioned irrigation protocols. The data were statistically compared with a significance level of 5%.

RESULTS

The final irrigation provided greater cleaning of the root canal walls in the cervical, middle, and apical thirds of the root canals (P < 0.05), with no statistically significant difference between UA and iVac®, regardless of the analyzed thirds. Both ultrasonic irrigation protocols dissolved a significantly greater volume than the conventional irrigation protocol (P < 0.05), with no difference between the two protocols (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The iVac® system showed root canal wall cleaning and tissue dissolution similar to UA with a metallic insert, and both were superior to conventional irrigation.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The new irrigation system iVac is more effective than conventional irrigation and has similar root canal wall cleaning and tissue dissolution to UA.

The use of sodium hypochlorite mixed with etidronic acid during canal preparation increases debris extrusion

The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of different irrigation protocols on debris extrusion. Single-rooted teeth were distributed into groups based on the irrigation protocols (n = 40): 2.5% NaOCl (biomechanical preparation: 20 mL and final irrigation: 5 mL); 2.5% NaOCl (biomechanical preparation: 20 mL) + 17% EDTA (final irrigation: 2 mL) + 2.5% NaOCl (final irrigation: 3 mL); and a mixture of 5% NaOCl +18% HEDP (biomechanical preparation: 20 mL and final irrigation: 5 mL). The canals were prepared using a reciprocating instrument size 40/0.06. For final irrigation, the groups were reassigned based on the agitation methods (n = 10): (a) no agitation; (b) ultrasonic; (c) sonic; and (d) continuous rotation. The control group (n = 10) received saline solution without agitation. The amount of debris extruded was measured by weight and analysed using One-way ANOVA (α < 0.05). The subgroups treated with NaOCl + HEDP mixture showed a significantly higher amount of extruded debris (p < 0.05), while there was no difference among agitation methods in all groups (p > 0.05).