Title

Assessment of dentinal microcrack formation following root canal preparation with rotary, reciprocating and heat-treated NiTi files using micro-CT analysis

Authors

Parthivi Singh^1,*, Sana Khan¹, Pooja Sinha², L Shuchitha³, Srishti Jain⁴ & Rashi Sahu⁵

Affiliation

¹Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, Peoples dental Academy, Peoples University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India; ²Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, Guru Gobind Singh College of Dental Science and Research Centre, Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh, India; ³Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, NSVK Sri Venkateshwara Dental College and Hospital, Bannerghatta, Bengaluru, India; ⁴Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, Medical officer, District Hospital, Ujjain, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India; ⁵Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Medical officer, Jaiprakash hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Pooja Sinha - E-mail: nutan.pooja16@gmail.com
Shuchitha L - E-mail: shuchithal@gmail.com
Srishti Jain - E-mail: srishti.jn19@gmail.com
Rashi Sahu - E-mail: Rashi.sahu28@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received May 1, 2026; Revised May 31, 2026; Accepted May 31, 2026, Published May 31, 2026

Abstract

Dentinal microcrack formation during root canal preparation is a critical concern as it predisposes to vertical root fracture and treatment failure. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate microcrack formation after instrumentation with three nickel–titanium systems (ProTaper Gold, WaveOne Gold and HyFlex EDM) using high-resolution micro-computed tomography. Hence, sixty human mandibular premolars (n=20 per group) were scanned pre- and post-instrumentation and microcracks were assessed for number, length and depth by blinded examiners. WaveOne Gold showed the highest microcrack formation, ProTaper Gold demonstrated intermediate values and HyFlex EDM exhibited the least dentinal damage, with statistically significant differences among groups (p<0.05). Heat-treated NiTi instruments produced fewer microcracks, indicating that file design and kinematics significantly influence dentinal integrity during root canal preparation.

Keywords

Dentinal microcracks; micro-computed tomography (micro-CT); nickel-titanium files; root canal preparation; heat-treated instruments

Citation

Singh et al. Bioinformation 22(5): 2745-2749 (2026)

Edited by

Hiroj Bagde

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.