Volumetric Analysis of Hand and Rotary Instrumentation, Root Canal Filling Techniques, and Obturation Materials in Primary Teeth Using Spiral CT

Aim and background: To compare the root canal volume in primary teeth using hand and rotary instruments and to evaluate root canal filling techniques and flow of root canal obturation materials in the postinstrumented root canal volume using spiral computed tomography (SCT).Materials and methods: Freshly extracted 16 primary molars were randomly divided into two groups and subjected to SCT analysis before and after instrumentation.For the manual technique (group I) with eight teeth were prepared using K files, and rotary (group II) eight teeth preparation was performed with ProTaper files.The filled volume in each canal was measured using SCT, and the percentage of obturated volume was calculated.The data were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test.Results: There was a statistically significant difference in both groups' volume of root canals enlarged.Even though both K files and the ProTaper system brought about enlarged canals after instrumentation, there was a statistically significant increase in volume after using K files in two canals.In three canals, there was a statistically significant increase in volume after using ProTaper.Irrespective of the obturation technique and materials used, there is no statistically significant difference in the volume after obturation. Conclusion:From the results of this study, the ProTaper file system shows suitable volumetric enlargement up to an optimum level, which is needed in primary root canal walls, and is better in canal shaping, as evidenced by good postobturation volume.Clinical significance: The traditional method of cleaning and shaping the root canals in permanent teeth using manual stainless-steel files can lead to undesirable curvatures in root canal morphology, making correctly filling the root canals difficult.It is also time-consuming and sometimes leads to iatrogenic errors.Rotary nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) instrumentation techniques have been developed to overcome these problems.