Effect of photon-initiated photoacoustic streaming, passive ultrasonic, and sonic irrigation techniques on dentinal tubule penetration of irrigation solution: a confocal microscopic study

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations 2017-09, Vol.21 (7), p.2205-2212
• Main Authors: Akcay, Merve, Arslan, Hakan, Mese, Merve, Durmus, Nazlı, Capar, Ismail Davut
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Bicuspid; Data processing; Dentin - drug effects; Dentistry; Endodontics; Fluorescent indicators; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Lasers; Lasers, Solid-State; Lavage; Mandible; Medicine; Microscopy, Confocal; Original Article; Photons; Premolars; Random Allocation; Root Canal Irrigants - pharmacokinetics; Root canals; Statistical analysis; Therapeutic Irrigation - instrumentation; Therapeutic Irrigation - methods; Tubules; Ultrasonics - instrumentation; Variance analysis; Yttrium
• ISSN: 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-016-2013-y

Objectives The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the efficacy of different irrigation techniques including laser-activated irrigation using an erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) laser with a novel tip design (photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS)), Er:YAG laser with Preciso tip, sonic activation, and passive ultrasonic activation on the final irrigation solution penetration into dentinal tubules by using a laser scanning confocal microscope. Material and methods In this study, 65 extracted single-rooted human mandibular premolars were instrumented up to size 40 and randomly divided into 5 groups ( n  = 13) based on the activation technique of the final irrigation solution as follows: conventional irrigation (control group), sonic activation, passive ultrasonic activation, Er:YAG-PIPS tip activation, and Er:YAG-Preciso tip activation. In each group, 5 mL of 5% NaOCl labeled with fluorescent dye was used during the activation as the final irrigation solution. Specimens were sectioned at 2.5 and 8 mm from the apex and then examined under a confocal microscope to calculate the dentinal tubule penetration area. Data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s post hoc tests ( P  = 0.05). Results Both Er:YAG laser (Preciso/PIPS) activations exhibited a significantly higher penetration area than the other groups ( P   middle > apical) ( P