Comparison of pro taper rotary instruments endurance before initial signs of failure: An in vitro study

The study aimed to evaluate the number of canals enlarged with a Pro Taper rotary instrument that could be safely used before the instrument showed initial signs of failure. In the study, we included 150 freshly extracted human molars with canal curvatures of ≤200. Teeth were divided into two groups (n=225 canals for each group) according to the type of rotary file system used. In Group 1, Root canals were instrumented with Pro Taper Universal (PTU) rotary files; in Group 2, Root canals were instrumented with Pro Taper Gold (PTG) rotary files. Each file was used in canals as per the instrument sequence suggested by the manufacturer till the file showed initial signs of failure. Whenever a file showed initial signs of failure, it was discarded, and the number of canals enlarged with that rotary file was noted. A new file of the same size was used in the next canal. The data were analyzed with the independent t-test. The significance level was set at 0.05. The mean number of canals enlarged using Pro Taper Gold (12) was higher compared to Pro Taper Universal (10). There was a statistically significant difference in the number of canals enlarged by Pro Taper Gold and Pro Taper Universal files (p=0.001). Pro Taper Gold was used to enlarge more root canals compared with the Pro Taper Universal, before showing initial signs of failure.