INTRODUCTION: Effective irrigant delivery and agitation protocols with recent advances in magnification, endodontic instruments, and obturation systems can lead to more conservative access opening designs.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the cleaning of the root canal system with 2 different designs of access opening, traditional versus conservative.
METHADOLOGY: 100 extracted upper premolars were divided into four groups according to the access opening performed: Gp I and Gp III Conservative endodontic access, GpII, and IV traditional access opening. Then all teeth were autoclaved, inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis, and incubated for 30 days. Gp I and Gp II were then prepared with Wave One Gold and irrigated with Passive ultrasonic irrigation while Gp III and Gp IV were not instrumented and served as negative control. Finally, all samples were decalcified and submitted to staining by Brown and Brenn stain.
RESULTS: The traditional access opening design showed better cleaning than conservative access. The obtained results showed statistical significance between the two access opening designs regarding the chemical cleaning.
CONCLUSIONS: Conservative and conventional access cavities exhibited different cleaning outcomes. Endodontic microscope assisted conservative access could not be done as a valuable alternative for conventional access without hindering cleaning.