viscosity of endodontic irrigants: infl uence of temperature

background: the aim of this study was to assess the infl uence of temperature on the viscosity of different endodontic irrigants. materials and methods: the measurements of viscosity of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 0.9% sodium chloride, aqueous solution of 0.2% chlorhexidine (chx) and 0.2% cetrimide, 5% sodium hypochlorite (naocl) and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (edta) at different temperatures (22°c, 30°c, 40°c, 50°c and 60°c) were obtained using mohr balance and ostwald viscometer. the shapiro- wilk test and mann-whitney u-tests were used for the statistical analysis. (α = 0.05). results: no signifi cant differences were recorded at each temperature among 3% hydrogen peroxide, 0.9% sodium chloride and aqueous solution of 0.2% chx and 0.2% cetrimide. 5% naocl and 17% edta showed the higher values. viscosity statistically decreased with increasing temperature. conclusion: within the limitations of this study, 5% naocl and 17% edta are signifi cantly viscous at room temperature and their viscosity reduces with elevating temperature. key words: root canal irrigants, temperature, viscosity