Within the limitations of this study, hand instrumentation with stainless steel K‑files achieved superior apical cleanliness compared to ProTaper Next and WaveOne Gold systems. The effective scraping and debris dislodgment capability of hand files contributed to enhanced smear layer and debris removal in the apical third, underscoring their clinical relevance in achieving improved disinfection in complex canal anatomies.
Krishna et al. (Fri,) studied this question.