Comparative evaluation of oxytetracycline versus QMix, MTAD, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as smear layer removal agents: An in vitro study

Aim: The aim is to evaluate the smear layer removal efficacy of Oxytetracycline and compare it with different endodontic irrigating solutions (QMix, mixture of tetracycline, citric acid, and detergent [MTAD] and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid [EDTA]) under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Materials and Methods: Fifty single-rooted teeth were decoronated. All the root canals were shaped with K3XF rotary Ni-Ti instruments (#30.,06) and irrigation was done with 2 ml of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solution between each file change. The samples were divided randomly into the 5 groups (n = 10) depending on the final irrigant used as follows: 5.25% NaOCl as control (Group 1), 17% EDTA (Group 2), QMix (Group 3), BioPure MTAD (Group 4), and Oxytetracycline (Group 5). The final irrigation was done using 5 ml of the respective irrigating solutions, each for 60 s. Specimens were fractured longitudinally. For each root, the half containing most visible part of apex was selected for the SEM analysis. The presence/absence of smear layer was evaluated at the coronal, middle, and apical third of the root canal using three score criteria. Data were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: QMix showed the least smear layer scores followed by MTAD, EDTA, NaOCl, and Oxytetracycline. Conclusion: Within the limitation of this study, it can be concluded that the test irrigant Oxytetracycline failed to remove the smear layer throughout the entire length of the root canal