Comparative Evaluation Of Apical Transportation and Canal Centering Ability Of Various NickelTitanium Rotary Systems In Curved Canals Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: An In Vitro Study

Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the canal centering ability and canal transportation of SmartTrack (ST), Profit S3 (PS3), and ProTaper Gold (PTG) systems using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Thirty extracted human single-rooted premolars were used in the present study. Using CBCT, pre instrumentation scanning of all the teeth arranged in arch form were taken. The teeth were decoronated to increase standardization and teeth measuring 16mm were only included for the study. The samples were randomly allocated in to three groups with ten samples in each group; Group I was instrumented with ST, Group II was instrumented with PS3, and Group III - PTG. Post Instrumentation CBCT scans were performed with the same parameters, and the two scans were compared to determine canal centering ratio and canal transportation at 3, 6, and 9 mm, from the apex. Statistical Analysis: One-way-ANOVA and the independent t-test were done for the pairwise comparison. The significance level was set at P = 0.05; statistical analysis was performed with SPSS statistics version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The mean canal centering ratio and canal apical transportation for ST, PS3 and PTG presented with no statistical difference (P> 0.05). Conclusion: It was evident that ST, PS3, and PTG had no statistically significant difference when analyzed based on canal centering ratio and canal transportation.