Cyclic Fatigue of EndoSequence and K3 Rotary Files in a Dynamic Model

The cyclic fatigue resistance of K3 and EndoSequence files was compared by rotating files against a highly polished surface inclined at 15 degrees to the horizontal. For each brand, files with a 25 tip in .04 and .06 taper and files with a 40 tip in .04 and .06 taper were tested at both 300 and 600 rpm. A 3-mm axial movement simulated a clinical pecking motion at 1 cycle per second. The number of rotations to failure was calculated and analyzed by using analysis of variance and Independent Student’s t tests, with results confirmed by nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests with a Bonferroni correction. At both 300 and 600 rpm, K3 files exhibited statistically significantly more cycles to fracture than their EndoSequence counterparts with the same tip size and taper. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrated surface features consistent with fracture due to cyclic fatigue. In this model, file design appeared to be the most important determinant of cyclic fatigue resistance.