Association of type of file fracture and method of removal in a university setting

Abstract

Some mishaps tend to occur during treatment in the root canal system, for example, file fractures. The challenge of the removal depends on the type of file fractured and the method which is used to remove it, generally it is decided based on the level of the fracture. Any file can fracture inside the root canal which is based on the curvature, anatomy. Specific techniques and measures have been employed to remove this file from the root canal system. The aim of the study is to find the association of file fracture with the method of removal. The details of all patients who underwent a root canal treatment where noted and the details of 16 patients with file fractures during the procedure were shortlisted. The type of file fractures was analyzed, such as K files, rotary files, H files, other instruments. The method of removal was usually ultrasonic, mechanical, manual or combination of any of the above. Excel tabulation was done and imported to SPSS for results. Chi-square test performed. The most common and used file to fracture in the root canal system was rotary files which had a fracture incidence of 31% and most common method used to retrieve was using ultrasonic of an incidence of 37.5. Chi-square test shows p>0.05, which is statistically not significant. The study concludes that rotary files fracture the most and the method used to retrieve them was mechanical, but as a whole, the most common method used was ultrasonic.