Impact of Radial Lands on the Reduction of Torque/Force Generation of a Heat-Treated Nickel-Titanium Rotary Instrument

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of a one-sided radial-landed cross-sectional design of a heat-treated nickel-titanium rotary instrument (JIZAI, MANI, Japan; JZ) on torque/force generation and canal-shaping ability, using an experimental non-landed instrument (non-landed JZ) for comparison. Both instruments had tip sizes of 25 and 0.04 or 0.06 taper and were similar in metallurgy and geometry, except for the presence/absence of a radial land. Twenty J-shaped simulated resin canals were instrumented in a two-instrument single-length sequence using an automated root canal instrumentation device with a torque/force analyzing unit. Pre- and post-instrumentation images of the resin canals were analyzed for canal-centering ability at 0–3 mm from the apex. The mean centering ratio was not significantly different between JZ and non-landed JZ (p > 0.05). In the 2nd instrumentation, JZ showed a significantly smaller torque compared with the non-landed JZ (p < 0.05). Regardless of instrumentation sequence, JZ showed a significantly smaller maximum upward force, representing screw-in force (p < 0.05), and a larger maximum downward force (p < 0.05) than the non-landed JZ. JZ generated smaller screw-in forces and had similar canal-centering ability compared with the non-landed JZ.