CT evaluation of apical canal transportation associated with stainless steel hand files, oscillatory technique and ProTaper rotary system

This study used computed tomography (CT) to compare apical canal transportation in mesiobuccal canals of maxillary molars prepared with different techniques. Sixty teeth were assigned to 3 groups (n=20), according to the technique used for root canal instrumentation: hand instrumentation with K-Flexofiles, K-Flexofiles activated by an oscillatory system and ProTaper NiTi rotary system. Pre and post-instrumentation CT images were obtained 3 mm short of the apical foramen and were superimposed to compare canal transportation. Data were analyzed statistically by ANOVA and Tukey's test using the SPSS software (α=0.05). In the buccal direction, the manual technique produced significantly less canal transportation than the oscillatory technique (p0.05). In the distal and distopalatal directions, the oscillatory technique produced more canal transportation (p