Impact of Endodontic Treatments on the Rigidity of the Root

TLDR

The impact of endodontic treatment on tooth rigidity is controversial, with substance loss and root canal geometry changes known to affect rigidity. The study aimed to investigate how different steps of endodontic treatments affect tooth rigidity. The authors measured root deformation of extracted untreated central maxillary anterior teeth under a 3.75 N load using speckle pattern interferometry while sequentially applying access preparation, manual instrumentation with Kerr files (ISO‑40 to ISO‑110), and tapered or parallel‑sided post preparation. Any endodontic step increased tooth deformability, but only access preparation and post preparation produced statistically significant destabilization, with parallel‑sided posts causing greater destabilization than tapered posts.

Abstract

The destabilizing effect of endodontic treatment upon teeth is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different steps of endodontic treatments upon the rigidity of teeth. Extracted untreated central maxillary anterior teeth were loaded (3.75 N), and deformations of the root were assessed by Speckle pattern interferometry. The following treatments (with subsequent determination of deformability) were conducted sequentially: access preparation, manual instrumentation (Kerr files ISO-40, ISO-60, ISO-80, ISO-110), and tapered and parallel-sided post preparation. It was found that the teeth were increasingly destabilized by any treatment. While the increased deformability was not significant with the manual enlargement (p > 0.05), we found a significant destabilization after access preparation and post preparation (p < 0.05). A corresponding difference was found after conversion of the post preparation from tapered to parallel-sided (p < 0.05). Both substance loss and modifications of the natural root canal geometry play an important role in tooth rigidity.