Buckling resistance of various pathfinding endodontic instruments: An in vitro study

Lateral bending of an endodontic instrument under axial load is referred to as buckling, an essential property to resist elastic or plastic deformation during canal scouting. Pathfinding file systems with sufficient buckling resistance can assist in locating the orifice of a canal and gaining entrance to the apical one-third of the root canal.

The purpose of the present study is to assess and compare the buckling resistance of various pathfinding file systems.

This research analyzed the buckling resistance of C+ File, C-Pilot File, K-File, ProGlider, TruNatomy glider, and PathFile. A gradually increasing axial load was applied to the instruments with the help of a universal testing machine, and for each instrument, the maximum load necessary to achieve a lateral elastic displacement of 1 mm was documented.

After the collection of data, one-way analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey's post hoc test, was utilized for comparisons between groups. P ≤0.05 indicated statistical significance.

The study revealed that the C+ File had the highest mean buckling resistance, while the PathFile exhibited the lowest value.

Buckling resistance is influenced by the materials, manufacturing processes, and design of pathfinding instruments. Stainless steel instruments exhibit greater resistance to buckling than nickel-titanium instruments.