Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: In endodontics, the use of intracanal dressing is important between treatment sessions for periapical periodontitis. Calcium hydroxide has been used in various clinical situations and placed inside the root canal for medication for different time periods ranging from 7 days to 6-24 months for apexification. Hence; the present study was undertaken for evaluating the effectiveness of manual and ultrasonic technique for removal of Calcium Hydroxide medicament from root canals. Materials and methods: A total of 20 extracted mandibular first premolars were included in the present study. Filling of the canals was done, after preparation, with calcium hydroxide (CaOH2). Radiographs were taken for assessing the quality. Placement of the teeth was done in the incubator for one month at thirty seven degree centigrade. After removal, all the specimens were divided into two study groups with 10 specimens in each group as follows: Group A: Removal of CaOH2 paste was done manually using flexo file and NaOCl irrigant, and Group B: Removal of CaOH2 paste was done using ultrasonic instrumentation and NaOCl irrigant. After, removal of calcium hydroxide, evaluation of empty canals was done by taking radiographs of roots. The optical thickness of radio opaque area was recorded in view of a size of 256 conceivable shades of grey, with dark symbolizing zero and white symbolizing 255. Results: Within both the study groups, while doing intragroup comparison, it was observed that mean gray levels in both the study groups showed a significant increase after removal of Ca(OH)2. In between both the study groups, while doing intergroup comparison, no significant difference was observed while comparing the mean gray levels after Ca(OH)2 removal. Conclusion: Both the techniques for removal of calcium hydroxide from the root canals are equally effective. Keywords: Root canal, Medicaments, Calcium Hydroxide