Comparing obturation quality and preparation times of different pulpectomy preparation techniques in primary molars – an In vitro study

Abstract

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare obturation quality and preparation times after root canal shaping between manual, rotary and reciprocating files during pulpectomy treatment in primary molars. Sixty extracted, human, primary mandibular second molars were randomly divided into three experimental instrumentation groups, Group 1: Manual stainless steel (ss) K-files (ISO size 20-35), Group 2: Rotary ProTaper Gold SX file and Group 3: Reciprocating WaveOne Gold Medium file. The mesiobuccal root canals of all the teeth were prepared and obturated with an iodine paste, Vitapex. The obturation quality was assessed using post-operative radiographs and a scoring criteria classified as “Good”, “Average”, “Poor” or “Failed”. Preparation times were recorded in seconds with a digital stopwatch and compared between different preparation groups. The quality of obturation results showed superior obturation quality in the ProTaper Gold SX and WaveOne Gold Medium groups. Although the ProTaper Gold SX group performed the best, no statistically significant difference was observed between the ProTaper Gold SX and WaveOne Gold Medium groups. The ss K-file group resulted in the most “Poor” and “Average” outcomes. The results of the preparation times showed the mean preparation time values within the ss K-file group to be significantly higher (186.4 s) than preparation time values within both the ProTaper Gold SX (29.6 s) and WaveOne Gold Medium groups (30.5 s). The preparation times of samples in the ProTaper Gold SX group and the WaveOne Gold Medium group did not differ significantly. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that the preparation times with the ProTaper Gold SX and WaveOne Gold Medium groups were statistically significantly faster than the manual ss K-file group. Rotary and reciprocating file instruments are also effective alternatives to conventional manual preparation with ss K-files. Rotary and reciprocating file instruments resulted in better obturation quality during pulpectomy treatment in primary molars compared to manual instrumentation. Thus, it can be concluded that the rotary and reciprocating file systems results in the fastest preparation time as well as superior obturation quality.