Fracture Strength of Roots Instrumented with Self-Adjusting File and the ProTaper Rotary Systems

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the fracture strength of roots instrumented with the Self-Adjusting File (SAF; ReDent-Nova, Ra’anana, Israel) and the ProTaper system (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and filled with the cold lateral compaction technique.MethodsIn total, 50 mandibular premolar teeth were sectioned at or below the cementoenamel junction to obtain roots 13 mm in length. The roots were balanced with respect to buccolingual-mesiodistal diameters and weight. They were distributed into 4 experimental groups and 1 control group (n = 10): no instrumentation (control group), instrumentation with ProTaper rotary files but no filling (PT), instrumentation with ProTaper rotary files and filling with cold lateral compaction (PT filling), instrumentation with SAF but no filling (SAF), and instrumentation with SAF and filling with cold lateral compaction (SAF filling). AH Plus sealer (Dentsply DeTrey, Konstanz, Germany) was used along with gutta-percha points. One week later, a vertical load was applied to the specimen’s canal until fracture occurred. Data were statistically analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance (P = .05).ResultsThe mean fracture load was 244 ± 51 N for the control group, 226 ± 21 N for the PT, 242 ± 45 N for PT filling, 233 ± 14 N for the SAF, and 271 ± 44 N for SAF filling. However, the differences were not statistically significant (P > .05).ConclusionsInstrumentation with the SAF or the ProTaper rotary system did not change the fracture strength of standardized roots with respect to cross-sectional diameter and weight.