Assessment of Vertical Force Generated with Single File Systems during Shaping of Constricted Root Canals

This study aimed to evaluate the shaping force generated with OneShape (OS) and HyFlex EDM (HEDM) systems designed for single file shaping, in comparison with ProTaper Next (PTN).

Maxillary premolar teeth received access cavity preparation and their canals were shaped with OS, HEDM, or PTN to size 25 according to manufacturer's instructions with consistent pressure on the files to give a gentle "in-and-out" movements of 2 mm amplitude. The canal shaping was completed with a total of three insertions. After each insertion, 1% NaOCl irrigation and recapitulation with K-file size 15 were performed. The vertical shaping force was measured using a force gauge (M5-20 Advanced Digital Force Gauge; Mark-10 Corporation, NY).

The shaping time was analyzed by using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and differences between the mean apical and coronal maximum force values were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. The level of significance was set as 0.05.

The magnitude of the vertical forces increased with successive advancements of the instruments within the canal. During canal shaping procedures in all groups, the apical and coronal maximum force values of the OS and HEDM ranged from 2.5 to 7.2 N and 1.3 to 2.9 N, respectively. PTN generated the lowest maximum apical forces during the second and third insertions (p < 0.05). HEDM generated significantly less maximum coronal forces than both OS and PTN during the first insertion while the use of OS was associated with the highest amount of force values in the second and third insertions (p < 0.05). In terms of shaping time, no significant differences were detected among the three tested systems (p = 0.606).

The tested single file systems were associated with higher shaping forces in the apical direction that were significant in the second and third insertions.