Effectiveness of passive ultrasonic irrigation in improving elimination of smear layer and opening dentinal tubules

OBJECTIVE To compare the ability to eliminate debris and open dentinal tubules of different ultrasound irrigation procedures. STUDY DESIGN Forty extracted single-rooted human teeth were instrumented with mechanical rotatory instrumentation, and divided into four groups: (n=10) according to the final irrigation technique: group A (control), 2.5% NaOCl irrigation with the Miraject needle and no ultrasonic agitation; group B, passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) with 2.5% NaOCl and Irrisafe 20 tips; group C, PUI with 2.5% NaOCl and Irrisafe 25 tips; group D, PUI with 2.5% NaOCl and K 25 tips. The amount of debris and the number of opened dentinal tubules was established by scanning electronic microscope. Data were compared using the Kruskal Wallis test. RESULTS Irrisafe tips (groups B and C) opened up more dentinal tubules and eliminated more debris than conventional irrigation (p<0.05) in the apical third. The middle third shows no significant differences between groups. Irrisafe 25 was more effective than conventional irrigation and K tips (p<0.05) in the coronal third. CONCLUSIONS Ultrasonic activation of the irrigation with Irrisafe tips was the most effective procedure for eliminating the debris and opening up dentinal tubules, especially in the apical third. Key words:Pasive ultrasonic irrigation, irrigation, sodium hypochlorite.