Cyclic Fatigue Resistance and SEM Evaluation of Fractured Instrument Surfaces; Comparison of ProTaper Universal and ProTaper Gold Files

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the cyclic fatigue resistance of ProTaper Universal (PTU) and ProTaper Gold (PTG) nickel titanium őles at different angles and to examine the fractured surface areas by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Materials & Methods: A special static test device made of stainless steel with artiőcial canals at 3 different angles. The őles were rotated until they were broken in artiőcial canals with 45°, 60° and 90° angles and also the time to fracture was recorded using a digital stopwatch. The number of cycles to failure was calculated for each instrument. Statistical analyzes were made by using one-way analysis of variance (Anova) for comparison between main groups. Results: PTG őles showed higher fatigue resistance (p