Comparison of the Cleaning Efficacy of Different Final Irrigation Techniques

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the removal of dentin debris from artificially made grooves in standardized root canals by 6 different final irrigation techniques. Methods: Conventional syringe irrigation, manual dynamic activation (MDA) with tapered or nontapered gutta-percha (GP) cones, the Safety Irrigator system, continuous ultrasonic irrigation (CUI), and apical negative pressure (ANP) irrigation were tested ex vivo in 20 root canals with a standardized, debris-filled groove in the apical portion of one canal wall. After each irrigation procedure, the groove was photographed, and the residual amount of dentin debris was scored. Results: There was no significant difference between the MDA with a nontapered GP cone, the Safety Irrigator, and the ANP irrigation. These techniques produced better cleaning efficacy than syringe irrigation (P <.005) but significantly worse than the MDA with a tapered cone (P <.05). CUI was significantly better than all the other techniques tested in this study (P <.001). Conclusions: CUI was the most effective technique in dentin debris removal from the apical irregularities, and syringe irrigation alone was the least effective. MDA technique was more effective with a tapered GP cone than with a nontapered one. (J Endod 2012;38:838-841)