Quantitative comparison of calcium hydroxide removal by EndoActivator, ultrasonic and ProTaper file agitation techniques: an in vitro study.

Calcium hydroxide (CH) dressing residues can compromise endodontic sealing. This study aimed to evaluate the amount of remaining CH in root canals after mechanical removal by four groups of irrigation techniques including needle irrigation only, ProTaper file, EndoActivator, and ultrasonic file. Fifteen extracted single-rooted teeth were collected and used for all four groups. The samples were firstly prepared by ProTaper rotary instruments, and then sectioned longitudinally through the long axis of the root canals, followed by final reassembling by wires. CH was kept in the canals for 7 days setting. The removal procedure began with 5 mL of 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) followed by 1 mL of 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and a final irrigation with 5 mL of 2.5% NaOCl solution for all groups. No additional agitation of the irrigant was performed in group 1, while agitation for 20 s between irrigants was done with F2 ProTaper rotary file in group 2, EndoActivator with tip size 25/.04 in group 3 and by an ultrasonic file 25/.02 in group 4. The total activation time was 60 s. The roots were then disassembled and captured by digital camera. The ratio of CH coated surface area to the surface area of the whole canal as well as each third of the canal was calculated. The data were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA using post hoc Tukey test. Results showed that none of the four techniques could remove all CH. No significant difference was found between EndoActivator and ultrasonic techniques. However, they both removed significantly more CH than ProTaper and needle irrigation (P=0.0001). In conclusion, the sonic and ultrasonic agitation techniques were more effective in removing intracanal medicaments than the ProTaper rotary file and needle irrigation in all thirds of the canal.

Mechanistic implications of the effect of TiO2 accessibility in TiO2-SiO2 coatings upon chlorinated organics photocatalytic removal in water.

The photocatalytic removal rates r of dichloroacetic acid (DCAA), 4-chlorobenzoic acid (4-CBA) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in water were compared for TiO2 samples used either as a powder or as a coating on a fiber glass tissue, SiO2 being the binder. From SEM-EDX measurements it was deduced that SiO2 prevails over TiO2 in the coating top layers and 18O2-Ti16O2 isotopic exchange showed that the accessibility of O2 to TiO2 was markedly reduced when TiO2 was thus coated. The unfavorable effect of the restricted TiO2 accessibility on r was drastic for DCAA, much less pronounced for 4-CBA, and still smaller for 4-CP. It is inferred that DCAA can be attacked only when it directly interacts with TiO2, whereas 4-CP can also react within the near-TiO2 surface water layers. The 4-CBA intermediate behavior is in line with the structural similarities of 4-CBA with DCAA and 4-CP.

Evaluation of the combined solar TiO2/photo-Fenton process using multivariate analysis.

The effect of combining the photocatalytic processes using TiO2 and the photo-Fenton reaction with Fe3+ or ferrioxalate as a source of Fe2+ was investigated in the degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4CP) and dichloroacetic acid (DCA) using solar irradiation. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the role of three variables: iron, H2O2 and TiO2 concentrations. The results show that TiO2 plays a minor role when compared to iron and H2O2 in the solar degradation of 4CP and DCA in the studied conditions. However, its presence can improve TOC removal when H2O2 is totally consumed. Iron and peroxide play major roles, especially when Fe(NO3)3 is used in the degradation of 4CP. No significant synergistic effect was observed by the addition of TiO2 in this process. On the other hand, synergistic effects were observed between FeOx and TiO2 and between H2O2 and TiO2 in the degradation of DCA.