Purpose
This
in vitro
study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different debridement techniques and conditioning procedures on root surface morphology and blood clot stabilization.
Methods
Two debridement techniques (curette [CU] vs. high-speed ultrasound [US]) and 2 conditioning procedures (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid [EDTA] and phosphoric acid [PA]) were used for the study. Seven experimental groups were tested on root surfaces: 1) no treatment (C); 2) CU; 3) US; 4) CU+EDTA; 5) US+EDTA; 6) CU+PA; and 7) US+PA. Three specimens per group were observed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface characterization. Additional root slices received a blood drop, and clot formation was graded according to the blood element adhesion index by a single operator. Data were statistically analyzed, using a threshold of
P
<0.05 for statistical significance.
Results
The C group displayed the most irregular surface among the tested groups with the complete absence of blood traces. The highest frequency of blood component adhesion was shown in the CU+EDTA group (
P
<0.05), while no differences were detected between the CU, US+EDTA, and CU+PA groups (
P
<0.05), which performed better than the US and US+PA groups (
P
<0.05).
Conclusions
In this SEM analysis, EDTA and conventional manual scaling were the most efficient procedures for enhancing smear layer removal, collagen fiber exposure, and clot stabilization on the root surface. This technique is imperative in periodontal healing and regenerative procedures.