Introduction: The ultimate goal of endodontic treatment is to eliminate bacteria
from infected root canals. Intracanal medications have been thought to be an important
step in reducing microorganisms. Different means were introduced for the removal
of intracanal medications, so there is a need to investigate which irrigation method
should be used to remove the intracanal medication to achieve a complete coronal and
apical seal of the disinfected canals. Aim: To compare the effectiveness of removal
of Calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and Double antibiotic paste (DAP) with Propylene
glycol (PG) and Glycerol vehicles using Passive Ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) and XPEndo
Finisher. Material and methods: 80 single-rooted extracted human teeth were
categorized into 4 groups (n=20) based on the intracanal medicament used GroupA1;
Ca(OH)2 + PG GroupA2; Ca(OH)2 + Glycerol. GroupA3; DAP + PG.GroupA4; DAP
+ Glycerol. Samples were stored in an incubator for 3 weeks and then subdivided into
two groups Subgroup B1; PUI and Subgroup B2; XP-Endo Finisher. Irrigation protocol
was NaOCl 2.5% followed by 17% EDTA. Each root half's picture was photographed
using a USB digital microscope.The amount of medication still present in the canal
was measured using the NIH image J V1.56 software program. One-way ANOVA and
Duncan's Multiple Range Tests were used for the statistical analysis. Results: The
difference between vehicles was not significant when all groups were compared as a
total using the PUI method and XP-Endo Finisher (p>0.05). However, the differences
in the percentage of remaining intracanal medication between vehicles were significant
at apical, middle and coronal levels of PUI and also levels of XP-Endo Finisher.
Conclusion: None of the irrigation activation methods used could eliminate any of
the medications. Both vehicles did not improve the elimination of the medications
used from the root canals. Removal of the medications from the apical level was more
difficult than the other levels.