Abstract
Aim The aim of this study was to compare the amount of debris produced apically during the removal of root canal obturating material by using various files in extracted teeth with simulated apical root resorption. Materials and methods An in vitro study was conducted in the root canals of 90 extracted mandibular premolar teeth that were prepared with a ProTaper Gold rotary file (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and filled with gutta-percha and an AH Plus sealer (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) using a cold lateral compaction technique. A total of 45 mandibular premolar teeth were randomly assigned to three control groups (i.e., the ProTaper Universal retreatment file (Dentsply Maillefer), the Reciproc Blue file (VDW, Munich, Germany), and the HyFlex Remover file (Coltene/Whaledent, Altstatten, Switzerland) for the removal of root canal filling material, whereas the remaining 45 teeth were treated as the experimental group and their apical portion was modified to simulate apical root resorption. The teeth of this experimental group were randomly divided into three subgroups according to the same three techniques used with the control groups for the removal of root canal filling materials. The apically extruded debris was collected into pre-weighed borosilicate glass tubes and then dried. The mean weight of the apically extruded debris was assessed using an analytical balance to an accuracy of 10(-4) g. Further, the data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Tukey's post hoc test. Results In the simulated apical root resorption groups, all file systems were associated with significantly more debris extrusion than the groups without simulated root resorption (a < 0.05). In both the control groups and experimental groups, the ProTaper Universal retreatment file was associated with the least weight of the apically extruded debris (a < 0.05), followed by the Reciproc Blue file and the HyFlex Remover file. Conclusion The amount of debris extruded apically was significantly greater in the teeth with simulated apical root resorption than in those without it. Further, during the removal of the root canal filling materials, HyFlex Remover was associated with significantly more apically extruded debris in all groups.