Apical extrusion of debris during the preparation of oval root canals: a comparative study between a full-sequence SAF system and a rotary file system supplemented by XP-endo finisher file

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of apically extruded debris during the preparation of oval canals with either a rotary file system supplemented by the XP-endo Finisher file or a full-sequence self-adjusting file (SAF) system. Materials and methods: Sixty mandibular incisors were randomly assigned to two groups: group A: stage 1—glide path preparation with Pre-SAF instruments. Stage 2—cleaning and shaping with SAF. Group B: stage 1—glide path preparation with ProGlider file. Stage 2—cleaning and shaping with ProTaper Next system. Stage 3—Final cleaning with XP-endo Finisher file. The debris extruded during each of the stages was collected, and the debris weights were compared between the groups and between the stages within the groups using t tests with a significance level set at P < 0.05. Results: The complete procedure for group B resulted in significantly more extruded debris compared to group A. There was no significant difference between the stages in group A, while there was a significant difference between stage 2 and stages 1 and 3 in group B, but no significant difference between stages 1 and 3. Conclusions: Both instrumentation protocols resulted in extruded debris. Rotary file followed by XP-endo Finisher file extruded significantly more debris than a full-sequence SAF system. Each stage, in either procedure, had its own contribution to the extrusion of debris. Clinical relevance: Final preparation with XP-endo Finisher file contributes to the total amount of extruded debris, but the clinical relevance of the relative difference in the amount of apically extruded debris remains unclear.