Comparative study of cutting efficiency of hand, gyromatic and path-finder root canal instruments. A scanning...

The cutting efficiency of path finder system was evaluated and compared with gyromatic and hand instrumentation. Mesio-buccal root-canal of maxillary first permanent molar was chosen for the study. Each experimental group comprised of eight teeth each and a control group, where no instrumentation of root-canal was done, comprised of 2 teeth. After preparation, the roots were split vertically, and prepared for SEM study. Debris and smear layer on canal walls were given a score of O to 3 where O denoted nil and 3 denoted heavy coatings. Statistical analysis of the result showed that there was no significant difference between the various experimental groups. The new path finder system compared favourably with gyromatic and hand instruments in cleaning the canal walls.