Efficacy of Protaper Universal and Reciproc Retreatment System for Guttapercha Removal From Oval Root Canals Using CBCT – An In Vitro Study

Objectives: To compare and evaluate volume of remaining filling material from the root canal for all samples using CBCT and to calculate total Time taken (T) in min.
Methods: 30 human extracted teeth with single straight canals were selected for this study. The 30 teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups based on obturation technique 1) lateral condensation 2) continuous wave of compaction 3) thermoplasticized obturation. The 10 teeth were randomly subdivided into 2 groups on basis of retreatment system : Reciproc system and Protaper universal system. Post operative CBCT imaging was used to assess the percentage of remaining filling material.
Results: The results of this in vitro study showed that mean volume of residual root filling was higher in the System B obturation (0.0053cucm) followed by Lateral condensation ( 0.0026 cucm)and Elements obturation system (0.0019). Overall, retreatment (T total) with Reciproc files (8.73mins)was significantly faster compared with Protaper files(25.27mins).
Conclusions: Under the limitations of this study, Reciproc files were faster and efficient than Protaper files in removing of residual guttapercha and it has effectively removed in Elements obturation system.