Influence of working length determined by three different apex locators on the apical extrusion of debris following the instrumentation with rotary Ni–Ti instrumentation system

Aim: This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the influence of working length (WL) determined by three different electronic apex locators (EALs) on the apical extrusion of debris following the instrumentation with a rotary NiTi instrumentation system. Methodology: Forty extracted human maxillary or mandibular premolar teeth with single root and canal were selected. Standardized access cavities were prepared, and the samples were divided into four groups according to the method used to determine the WL: Group I (n = 10) – actual working length (AL), Group II (n = 10) – Root ZX mini, Group III (n = 10) – CanalPro™, and Group IV (n = 10) – Propex Pixi™. Each specimen was held in a test apparatus to evaluate the apical extrusion of debris during instrumentation. Instrumentation of all the specimens was done using ProTaper Next till the size X3. The apically extruded debris was collected and calculated by subtracting the initial weight of the tube from the weight of the tube containing dried debris. The apically extruded debris weight score was calculated and tabulated and was subjected to statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test. Results: Group II and Group III exhibited similar results and exhibited significantly less apical extrusion of debris compared to Groups I and IV. Conclusion: WL determined by EAL (Root ZX mini and CanalPro) showed lesser apical extrusion of debris than AL determination.