Apical extrusion of debris following the use of single-file rotary/reciprocating systems, combined with syringe or ultrasonically-facilitated canal irrigation

AIM: The aim of the study is to quantify the amount of debris extrusion after instrumentation with single-file rotary and reciprocating systems used either with conventional irrigation (CI) or passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) systems. METHODOLOGY: Sixty extracted human mandibular incisors were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 30); rotary single-file system, One Shape (OS-Group 1) and reciprocating single-file system, WaveOne (WO-Group 2) instruments. The two groups were further subdivided into two subgroups (n = 15); (A) PUI and (B) CI. The apically extruded debris was collected in preweighed glass vials as per the Myers and Montgomery method. After drying, the mean weight of debris was assessed with a microbalance and statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and Student's t-test. RESULTS: The reciprocating file system produced significantly more debris compared to the rotary file system using either of the irrigation systems (P = 0.04). CI produced significantly more (P = 0.02) debris extrusion compared to PUI irrespective of the file system used. CONCLUSION: Under the conditions of this study, both systems caused apical debris extrusion. Rotary single-file system produced less debris extrusion compared to reciprocating single-file system. Use of PUI may be advocated as an alternative to CI, as it causes lesser apical debris extrusion.