A Survey on Nickel Titanium Rotary Instruments and their Usage Techniques by Endodontists in India.

INTRODUCTION

The preference and usage of nickel titanium rotary instruments varies from individual to individual based on their technique, experience with the rotary systems and the clinical situation. Very limited information is available to explain the adoption of changing concepts with respect to nickel titanium rotary instruments pertaining to the endodontists in India.

AIM

The aim of this study was to conduct a questionnaire survey to acquire the knowledge concerning different NiTi rotary instruments and their usage techniques by endodontists in India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A Survey questionnaire was designed which consisted of 32 questions regarding designation, demographics, experience with rotary instruments, usage of different file systems, usage techniques, frequency of reuse, occurrence of file fracture, reasons and their management was distributed by hand in the national postgraduate convention and also disseminated via electronic medium to 400 and 600 endodontists respectively. Information was collected from each individual to gain insight into the experiences and beliefs of endodontists concerning the new endodontic technology of rotary NiTi instrumentation based on their clinical experience with the rotary systems. The questions were designed to ascertain the problems, patterns of use and to identify areas of perceived or potential concern regarding the rotary instruments and the data acquired was statistically evaluated using Fisher's-exact test and the Chi-Square test.

RESULTS

Overall 63.8% (638) endodontists responded. ProTaper was one of the most commonly used file system followed by M two and ProTaper Next. There was a significant co relation between the years of experience and the file re use frequency, preparation technique, file separation, management of file separation.

CONCLUSION

A large number of Endodontists prefer to reuse the rotary NiTi instruments. As there was an increase in the experience, the incidence of file separation reduced with increasing number of re use frequency and with experience, the management of separated file was better.