Effect of photon‐initiated photoacoustic streaming on removal of apically placed dentinal debris

AIM: To compare the efficacy of photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS) technique with conventional, sonic and ultrasonic irrigation on the removal of apically placed dentinal debris from an artificial groove created in a root canal. METHODOLOGY: Root canal preparation was performed up to size 40 on 48 extracted single-rooted teeth using ProTaper rotary instruments. The specimens were then split longitudinally, and a standardized groove was prepared in the apical part of each segment. Each groove was filled with dentinal debris mixed with 5% NaOCl. Each tooth was reassembled and irrigated as follows: (i) conventional irrigation with 1% NaOCl, (ii) sonic, (iii) ultrasonic irrigation, and (iv) PIPS. The root segments were disassembled, and the amount of remaining dentinal debris was evaluated under a stereomicroscope at 20× magnification, using a four-grade scoring system. The data were evaluated statistically using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests with a 95% confidence level (P = 0.05). RESULTS: Photon-induced photoacoustic streaming removed significantly more dentinal debris than conventional irrigation (P < 0.001), sonic irrigation (P < 0.001) or ultrasonic irrigation (P = 0.005). There was no significant difference between sonic and ultrasonic irrigation (P = 0.377). CONCLUSIONS: Photon-induced photoacoustic streaming was more effective than conventional, sonic and ultrasonic irrigation in the removal of apically placed dentinal debris.