An in vitro comparative evaluation of dentinal crack formation caused by three different nickel-titanium rotary file systems in primary anterior teeth.

Context: Cleaning and shaping of the canals damages the root dentin which becomes a gateway to dentinal cracks and thereby causes failure of the treatment.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and compare dentinal crack formation caused by three different nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary file systems in primary anterior teeth.

Settings and design: The present in vitro study is an experimental, comparative study.

Materials and methods: One hundred fifty extracted primary anterior teeth were included in this study. The teeth were randomly divided into five groups. Group 1: Pedoflex rotary file system, Group 2: Prime Pedo^™ rotary file system, Group 3: Kedo-S² rotary file system, Group 4: K-files, and Group 5: no instrumentation. Roots were sectioned and viewed under a stereomicroscope for the presence of any cracks.

Statistical analysis used: The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results: In the coronal, middle, and apical thirds, Group 2 showed a maximum number of crack formations in the middle third (57%), followed by Group 3 (43.3%) and Group 1 (36.7%). Groups 4 and 5 showed no crack formation in all the root sections. The middle third showed a maximum number of crack formations compared to the coronal and apical thirds.

Conclusions: Rotary systems render various benefits with an acceptable success in comparison to conventional hand instrumentation. Within the limitation of this study, it was found that Pedoflex rotary file system was the best with the least number of crack formations.