Cleaning effectiveness of a nickel-titanium ultrasonic tip in ultrasonically activated irrigation: a SEM study

Abstract In endodontic treatment, regardless of the instrumentation technique, the presence of a smear layer covering contaminated dentin walls is always a concern. Thus, irrigation plays an essential role in reducing bacterial load. To enhance irrigation effectiveness, different ultrasonic activation methods and the use of different tips have been studied. This study assessed the cleaning capacity of the novel NiTi ultrasonic tip for smear layer removal using ultrasonically activated irrigation (UAI) with passive or continuous ultrasonic irrigation (PUI or CUI, respectively), compared with co...