The effect of gutta-percha removal using nickel-titanium rotary instruments

The purpose of this study was to quantify the amount of remaining gutta-percha/sealer on the walls of root canals when three types of nickel-titanium rotary instruments and a hand instrument were used to remove these materials. Forty extracted mandibular premolars were prepared by step-back method and obturated with gutta-percha and sealer. Gutta-percha removal for group 1 was done using hand file with chloroform, group 2 using Profile and group 4 using K3. The following factors were evaluated : Time taken to reach working length, total time for gutta-percha removal and number of fractured instruments.(중략)