EVALUATION OF MANUAL DYNAMIC ACTIVATION, PASSIVE ULTRASONIC IRRIGATION AND CANALBRUSH ON SMEAR LAYER REMOVAL - A SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDY

The aim of the study was to compare the efficiency of smear layer removal using Manual Dynamic Activaton, Passive Ultrasonic Irrigation and Roeko Canal brush with the conventional syringe irrigation using scanning electron microscope, and to evaluate the effect of various agitation techniques in improving the efficacy of SmearClear (17% EDTA with surfactant) and 10% citric acid. Materials and methods: Seventy single rooted teeth with single canal were decoronated to obtain a standardized root length of 16 mm. All the specimens were cleaned and shaped using ProTaper rotary system. Intermittent irrigation of the canal was done using 0.5 ml of 3% NaOCl between each file use .The prepared teeth were randomly divided into four groups with three different irrigant agitation protocols: Group 1: Control, Group 2: Manual Dynamic Activation , Group 3: Passive Ultrasonic Irrigation and Group 4:Canal brush activation. Each of these groups were divided into 2 subgroups with two chelating i.e. SmearClear and 10% citric acid. After these procedures the specimens were prepared for scanning electron microscopic examination and evaluated for the presence of smear layer using the 5 point smear layer removal scoring system. Results:There was a statistically significant difference in the smear layer removal efficacy of the irrigant agitation techniques with Passive Ultrasonic irrigation showing the highest efficacy followed by Canal Brush irrigation and Manual Dynamic Activation. SmearClear has a better smear layer removal efficacy in comparison with 10% citric acid. Conclusion: Passive Ultrasonic irrigation produced cleaner canal walls devoid of smear layer when compared to Canal Brush activation and Manual Dynamic activation.