Comparison of apical debris extrusion using EDDY, passive ultrasonic activation and photon-initiated photoacoustic streaming irrigation activation devices.

The study aimed to determine the effect of different irrigation activation systems on the amount of apical debris extrusion in mandibular molar teeth with curved root canals. Sixty extracted mandibular molar teeth were instrumented with HyFlex EDM system and divided into four groups according to irrigation techniques: passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI), EDDY, photon-initiated photoacoustic streaming (PIPS) and manual irrigation (MI). After the final irrigation, the extruded irrigants were collected into Eppendorf tubes of known weights. The amount of extruded debris was obtained by subtracting the weight from the initial weight of the tube. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. EDDY caused significantly more debris extrusion than the other irrigation activation systems (P < 0.001). PUI caused less apical debris extrusion but there was no statistical difference between PUI, PIPS and MI (P > 0.05). The EDDY activation system was associated with the highest amount of debris extrusion in curved root canals.