Biomechanical preparation, disinfection and obturation all together
constitute equally important phases of endodontic treatment.
Chemomechanical preparation of the root canal through a combination of
mechanical instrumentation and antibacterial irrigation is the critical
stage in canal disinfection. During the last decade, several new nickel
titanium instruments for manual root canal preparation as well as for
use in a rotary endodontic handpiece have been developed in order to
facilitate the difficult and time consuming process of cleaning and
shaping the root canal system and to improve the final quality of root
canal preparation. The comparative evaluation of the new instruments to
remove smear layer material produced during endodontic preparation is
unknown. Aim of this study is to assess smear layer formation following
canal preparation using Endowave, K3 and ProTaper using Scanning
Electron Microscope.