Weight of apically extruded debris following use of two canal instrumentation techniques and two designs of irrigation needles

AIM: To compare the weight of apically extruded debris associated with canal shaping using K-files, and the Revo-S system using two different needle tips, open-ended and side-vented. METHODOLOGY: Forty freshly extracted mandibular premolar teeth were divided into four groups as follows; Group 1a: Hand instrumentation of root canal with open-ended needle used to provide irrigation, Group 1b: Hand instrumentation with a two side-port needle, Group 2a: Revo-S preparation with open-ended needle, Group 2b: Revo-S preparation with a two side-port needle. One Eppendorf tube for each tooth was weighed with a 0.0001 electronic weighing machine before instrumentation procedures. During instrumentation, irrigation was performed after every instrument with 1 mL distilled water. On completion of the preparation, teeth were removed from the Eppendorf tubes. All of the tubes were incubated at 37 °C for 15 days, to evaporate the irrigant. After the incubation period, tubes were weighed again. The difference between pre-and post-debris weights was calculated, and statistical evaluation was performed using analysis of variance at 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed between K-files and the RevoS system. A significant difference was observed between needles (P < 0.05). Open-ended needles were associated with significantly more debris than side-vented needles (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both hand and rotary canal instrumentation resulted in extrusion of debris beyond the apical foramen. No significant difference was observed between K-files and Revo-S system. Open-ended needles were associated with significantly more extruded debris than two side-port needles.