RESUMEN
Aim: To analyze the root canal organic tissue dissolution capacity promoted by irrigating solutions,with or without the use of different agitation techniques. Methods: Bovine pulp tissue fragmentswere initially weighed. The following irrigating solutions were tested: 2.5% sodium hypochlorite, 2%chlorhexidine digluconate solution, and distilled water. The irrigating protocols were: immersion,mechanical agitation with endodontic files, and ultrasonic or sonic systems (Endoactivactor®and Easy Clean®). At the end of the protocols, the pulps were weighed to determine their finalweight. For comparison, the average percentage of tissue dissolution in relation to the groups wasanalyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test complemented by multiple comparisonstest. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: Among the irrigation solutions, 2.5% sodiumhypochlorite showed a higher dissolving power than 2% chlorhexidine digluconate and distilled water.Furthermore, ultrasonic and sonic systems were more effective irrigating protocols than immersionand mechanical agitation with endodontic files. Conclusions: The combination of sodium hypochloritewith an agitation system promotes a greater degree of tissue degradation.