Influence of Different Irrigation Solutions and Instrumentation Techniques on the Amount of Apically Extruded Debris

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of different irrigation solutions on the amount of extruded residues apically, varying the instrumentation technique in manual, continuous rotation, or reciprocation motions. The amounts of residue for each irrigation solution was also assessed. METHODS: Two tests were performed. In the first test, 90 mandibular premolars were divided into nine groups (n=10). Each group was subjected to a different technique: ProTaper Universal, WaveOne Gold, or manual instruments, with different irrigation solutions [2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gel, or distilled water]. During the preparation of the root canal, the apically extruded material was collected in previously weighed glass vials. In the second test, irrigation solutions were weighed separately with the same weighing method. Data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov, one-way and two-way ANOVA, Levene, Tukey, and Games–Howell tests. RESULTS: Apically extruded debris was observed in all groups. ProTaper Universal with continuous rotation using 2% CHX gel resulted in the greatest amount of debris (P<0.001). There were significant differences in the amounts of residue among the different groups (P<0.001). Moreover, when the weighing of the irrigation solutions was tested, the 2.5% NaOCl solution produced the greatest amount of residues compared with other irrigation solutions. CONCLUSION: Different irrigation solutions influenced the amount of apically extruded debris during the preparation of the canal among the different instrumentation techniques. The ProTaper technique using 2% CHX gel resulted in the greatest amount of apically extruded debris.