Evaluation of the Efficacy of Various Root Canal Irrigants on Removal of Smear Layer in Primary Teeth: A Comparative Study.

AIM

The aim of the current research was to appraise the effectiveness of different radicular canal irrigant solutions on the elimination of the smear layer in deciduous teeth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 60 fit deciduous teeth that were subjected to extraction for a variety of curative reasons were employed in this research. Every sample tooth was subjected to decoronation at the CEJ employing a carborundum disk. A number 10 K-file (Dentsply Maillefer) was utilized to estimate the working length of the radicular canal using a manual technique by a sole operator in the step-back method. The specimens were allocated at random to one of the following three groups: Group 1: Irrigation using Saline, Group 2: Irrigation using 6% Citric acid, and Group 3: Irrigation using sodium hypochlorite. Following 24 h of storage, the sample teeth were subjected to vertical grooving using diamond suctioning discs beneath a high-power suction. All sections were subjected to staining using 1% methylene blue for 2 min before rinsing with 0.9% saline and allowed to bench dry. Rendering scores for the existence of a smear layer for the two halves of the split sample tooth were performed by visual inspection for the cervical, middle, plus apical one-third via a light stereomicroscope at 40× magnifying power.

RESULTS

With saline irrigation, the smear coat elimination at coronal one-third scored at 2.16 ± 0.11, 1.84 ± 0.06 at middle one-third, along with 1.92 ± 0.26 at the apical one-third. When 6% citric acid was employed as an irrigant, the scores were 0.72 ± 0.14 at coronal one-third, 0.84 ± 0.03 at middle one-third, and 0.90 ± 0.23 at apical one-third. When sodium hypochlorite was used as an irrigant, the mean score was 0.78 ± 0.12 at the coronal one-third, 0.92 ± 0.06 at the middle one-third, as well as 0.96 ± 0.18 at the apical one-third. The differences between the groups were statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The current research arrived at a conclusion that 6% citric acid has the potential to eliminate smear coats in deciduous radicular canals when employed as a closing irrigant following instrumentation.