INTRODUCTION: Three dimensional obturation is an essential factor for the success of root canal treatment which is achieved by the adaptation of the root filling to the canal walls to create a homogenous mass of filling.
OBJECTIVES: To compare the obturation quality of different obturation techniques in curved canals using two rotary systems by CBCT.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty mesial roots of mandibular first molars were selected, decoronated to 12mm length and divided into two groups (n=20). Group I: instrumented with Protaper Next file system; Group II: instrumented with Wave One primary file, then they were subdivided into subgroups (A1, A2 and B1 ,B2) according to the obturation technique used . Subgroups (A1, A2) were obturated with single cone technique while subgroups (B1 , B2) were obturated using cold lateral compaction technique. Pre and post obturation CBCT images were used to assess the volume of voids in the filled canals. Data were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.
RESULTS: Subgroup B1 showed the least amount of voids with percentage (14.82%), while subgroup B2showed the highest amount of voids with percentage (40.16%) when compared to the other subgroups. At the coronal level, subgroup B1 showed less volume of voids with mean percentage (13.41±9.11), while subgroup B2 showed higher amount of voids with mean percentage (23.17±5.27) than subgroups (A1and A2). At the middle third, there was no significant difference between the four subgroups. Apically, single cone subgroups (A1 and A2) produced significantly less volume of voids than lateral compaction subgroups.
CONCLUSIONS: Protaper Next group obturated with lateral compaction technique provided the least amount of voids followed by the two single cone subgroups, while Wave one group obturated with lateral compaction technique provided the highest amount of voids.