Comparison of the efficacy of sonic irrigation and conventional syringe irrigation in the removal of curcumin and triple antibiotic paste from root canals

Background. The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of sonic irrigation and conventional syringe irrigation (CSI) in terms of curcumin (CUR) and triple antibiotic paste (TAP) removal from a standardized groove artificially created in root canals.

Methods. The root canals of 72 anterior maxillary teeth were prepared using the Reciproc system to size R50. The teeth were split longitudinally, and a standardized groove was created in the apical region of one root half. The standardized grooves were filled with CUR or TAP with the exclusion of six teeth that served as the negative control group, and then the root halves were reassembled. The teeth were divided into two subgroups according to the irrigation protocols used: sonic activation with EndoActivator (EA) or CSI (n=15). After the removal of the medicament, the residual medicament was assessed under a stereomicroscope. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analyses (P = 0.05).

Results. The EA sonic activation method was significantly more efficient in removing CUR medicament from the root canals. Considering the medicament types, more CUR than TAP was removed from the root canals using both CSI and the EA (sonic activation) system (P<0.05).

Conclusion. As compared with CSI, the EA was not significantly more efficient in removing TAP, but it was significantly more effective than CSI in removing CUR.