Title
Biofilm removal from oval root canals using three irrigation activation protocols
Authors
Pragya Patel*, Riya Agrawal, Mayur Kahate, Aastha Shukla, Mariya Kitabwala & Paridhi Jain
Affiliation
Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Modern Dental College and Research Centre, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author
Pragya Patel - E-mail: pragyapatel181@gmail.com
Riya Agrawal - E-mail: Agrawalriya455@gmail.com
Mayur Kahate - E-mail: drkahatemayur@gmail.com
Aastha Shukla - E-mail: aasthashukla1990@gmail.com
Mariya Kitabwala - E-mail: mkitabwala@gmail.com
Paridhi Jain - E-mail: paridhijain8997@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received September 1, 2026; Revised September 30, 2026; Accepted September 30, 2026, Published September 30, 2026
Abstract
Persistent biofilm in oval root canal recesses remains a major cause of incomplete endodontic disinfection because conventional syringe irrigation cannot reliably reach fins, isthmuses and flattened buccolingual extensions. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the XP-Endo Finisher, a Gentle Wave-inspired negative-pressure multisonic irrigation protocol and passive ultrasonic irrigation for biofilm removal from 90 standardized oval mandibular premolar canals using paired micro-computed tomography and confocal laser scanning microscopy. After four-week multispecies biofilm maturation, canals were instrumented to a common apical size and randomly allocated to three irrigation activation groups; residual hard-tissue debris volume, biofilm-covered canal wall area, viable bacterial percentage and dentinal tubule penetration of live cells were recorded. The Gentle Wave-inspired protocol showed the highest debris reduction (91.8 ± 4.9%) and lowest viable biofilm percentage (9.7 ± 4.3%), followed by XP-Endo Finisher (84.6 ± 6.3%; 15.8 ± 6.1%) and passive ultrasonic irrigation (78.2 ± 7.5%; 23.5 ± 8.6%), with significant intergroup differences (p < 0.001). Thus, data shows that fluid dynamics combining negative pressure and multisonic agitation may improve disinfection of oval canals, although XP-Endo finisher also achieved substantial cleaning beyond passive ultrasonic irrigation.
Keywords
XP-Endo Finisher, Gentle Wave, passive ultrasonic irrigation, oval canals, biofilm, micro-CT, confocal microscopy
Citation
Patel et al. Bioinformation 22(9): 5599-5603 (2026)
Edited by
Ashwini Dhopte
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
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.
