Background: The main objective of the root canal preparation is to develop a continuous taper from coronal to apical with maintaining the original shape and curvature of the canal. During continuous development and manufacturing of nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) alloys, there was a significant improvement of quality of rotary files to maintain the original root canal curvature with predictable results with less changes and iatrogenic damage.
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the maintenance of canal curvature using ProTaper Next and 2 Shape rotary Ni-Ti file system in shaping the apical third of the root canal using RadioVisoGraphy (RVG) on curved root canals.
Materials and Methods: Sixty extracted human permanent mandibular molar with mature apices and 30°–40° apical root curvature were collected and divided into two groups thirty teeth in each ; Group I : canals prepared using 2Shape NiTi rotary file system; Group II: canals prepared using ProTaper Next (PTN) rotary Ni-Ti file system. All samples were radiographed before and after preparation using RVG. The data collected were evaluated using the Student t-test.
Results: It was observed that Group I (2Shape) showed maintenance of canal curvature and lower percentage changes in canal curvature as compared to Group II (ProTaper Next) with no significant differences between the two groups
Conclusion: It was concluded that 2Shape rotary Ni-Ti system maintain the original canal curvature in comparison to ProTaper next rotary file system in curved root canal.