USING A SMOOTH SURFACE ULTRASONIC TIP WITH WATER CAN REDUCE THE SMEAR LAYER

Abstract

The present study was conducted to clarify the effectiveness of root canal shaping using a stainless steel tip with water in removing the smear layer (SL) and smear plugs (SP). Forty sectioned single-rooted specimens without SL or SP were used. The SL was formed by using a diamond tip (DT) with/without water, and the SP was formed using a DT with water. After shaping with the DT, the specimens were prepared using a stainless steel tip (ST) with water. The specimens were observed by SEM and scored. The SL was effectively removed using the ST at low power, and there was a significant difference in the presence of SL between the lowest and highest powers (p<0.01). The SP, however, was not removed using the ST with water at any power level. It is suggested that the SL can be removed effectively using ST with water, but this approach is inadequate to remove the SP.