Comparison of apically extruded debris associated with different nickel-titanium systems

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of different instrument systems on the amount of extruded debris. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 extracted mandibular molars with two separate canals and apical foramina in the mesial roots were selected. The root canals (n=10) were randomly assigned to the six groups of file systems as follows: ProTaper Next (PTN), WaveOne (WO), WaveOne Gold (WOG), One Shape (OS), Reciproc (R) and Reciproc Blue (RB). The extruded debris during the instrumentation was collected into Eppendorf tubes, which were weighed and then stored in an incubator at 70°C over a period of five days to evaporate the irrigant. After the incubation process, the Eppendorf tubes were weighed again. The difference between these two measurements, the first one before and the second one after the incubation process, was calculated. Data were statistically analyzed, and the significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: R produced less debris compared to WO. R and PTN files produced significantly less debris compared to the OS files (p<0.05). Extruded debris in RB and WO groups were not significantly different, while RB produced less debris than WOG and OS (p<0.05). Conclusions: All instrumentation systems allowed for the apical extrusion of the debris.