Anca Torcatoru, Andrei Iliescu, Loredana Precup
The purpose of this study was to assess in vitro the efficiency of nickel-titanium rotary files and hand files for removal of endodontic filling using orange oil as a solvent. Forty extracted molars and premolars were selected. They were divided into 4 groups with curved or straight canals. Half of these were filled using the warm lateral condensation technique and the other half using the single-matched taper-sized cone technique. They were retreated using hand files and rotary files for each filling technique. Each root canal was sectioned in the coronal third, mid third and apical third. All the sections were analysed using an endodontic microscope at the highest magnification. The findings of this study showed that none of the retreated canals were completely free of gutta-percha and sealer remnants. The mixed use of manual and rotary files can lead to a more efficient cleaning though curved canals remain a challenge.