Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) are commonly recommended for effectively removing organic and inorganic components in the smear layer. This layer is found on root canal walls after root canal instrumentation. However, high-concentration EDTA reduces the strength of dentin and the dissolution efficacy of organic substances in NaOCl solution. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of applying nano and submicron diamonds in irrigation solutions with sonic and ultrasonic oscillation for removing the smear layer during endodontic treatment. Extracted single-rooted human teeth were instrumented with ProTaper® Gold (Dentsply Sirona) nickel-titanium rotary instruments. Subsequently, each canal was irrigated with 3% NaOCl, 17% EDTA, distilled water, and 10-1000 nm-sized nano and submicron diamond irrigation solutions, respectively. Sonic and ultrasonic instruments were compared for oscillating the irrigation solutions. The teeth were processed for scanning electron microscopy to observe the efficiency of smear layer removal on the canal walls. Our results indicated that diamond sizes of 50 nm and above irrigation solutions showed significant effectiveness in removing the smear layer following the oscillation of sonic instruments for 10 s. Ultrasonic assisted 500 nm and 1000 nm diamond solutions significantly differed from the other diamond-sized solution in their ability to remove the smear layer. These results suggest that sonic and ultrasonic oscillation with specific sizes of nano and submicron diamond irrigation solution can be used as an alternative approach to removing the smear layer during endodontic treatment. The potential clinical application of root canal treatments can be expected.
Keywords: EDTA; endodontic irrigation; nano diamonds; smear layer; submicron diamonds.