Effects of two post space preparation methods and three cleaning techniques on post space cleanliness: A micro-CT evaluation

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cleanliness of post space walls after using two different post space preparation (PSP) and three different root canal wall cleaning techniques.
Methods: A total of 104 mandibular premolars were selected. After root canal preparation, specimens were divided into two groups (n = 52) for PSP treatment: conventional post space preparation (CPSP) and modified post space preparation (MPSP). Four subgroups (n = 13) were defined based on the cleaning method: control, self-adjusting-file (SAF), passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI), and photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS). Micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) scans of the teeth were performed before and after the post space cleaning techniques. The remaining residue volumes were measured to calculate cleaning percentages (%).
Results: After the first µ-CT scan, there was a significant difference between CPSP and MPSP (p< 0.05). A higher residue volume was generated on post space walls following the MPSP technique compared with the CPSP technique (p< 0.05). In both PSP techniques, significant differences were observed among the irrigation procedures (p< 0.05). Cleaning efficiency was highest for SAF in group CPSP and PIPS in group MPSP (p< 0.05). Pairwise comparisons revealed a residue volume similarity between the same cleaning techniques of the PSP groups (p> 0.05), except for the PIPS technique (p< 0.05).
Conclusion: CPSP can be preferred over the MPSP in clinical practice because it removes more residues. PIPS and SAF are more effective than PUI.