Comparison of balanced forces, endosonic, and step-back filing instrumentation techniques: Quantification of extruded apical debris

Randomly assigned groups of 15 single-canal, extracted human teeth were instrumented by one of three techniques: balanced forces, endosonic, or step-back filing. Debris extruded from the apical foramen during instrumentation was collected onto preweighed filters using a suction filtration apparatus. Following desiccation, weight determinations were made on an analytical electrobalance. A one-factor analysis of variance was performed on the debris weight data revealing that the endosonic technique apically extruded significantly more debris than the balanced forces technique (p