Evaluation of the effect of different irrigant solutions on the smear layer removal on root canal dentine at coronal, middle and apical root sections using sem study

Success in endodontic therapy depends on chemo mechanical debridement of the root canal system through the use of instruments and effective irrigant solutions which serve variety of purposes including antibacterial action, tissue dissolution, cleaning and chelating. Smear layer prevents the penetration of intracanal medicaments into dentinal tubules and influences the adaptation of filling materials to canal walls. Therefore the present study will evaluate the effect of different chemical and herbal irrigant solutions on the smear layer removal on root canal dentine. Forty single rooted human premolars were decoronated transversely at the cemento-enamel junction and the crowns were discarded. Roots were equally divided into groups according to the final irrigants used: Group 1: 17% EDTA, Group 2: Qmix, Group 3: Tea tree oil , Group 4: saline 5 % Ten root halves from each group were prepared. After standard preparation and final irrigation with the irrigants coronal, middle and apical thirds of the roots were examined for the smear removal from dentinal tubules using SEM. Data was obtained and the results were analyzed statistically.