The Impact of Multiple Autoclave Cycles on the Surface Roughness of Thermally Treated Nickel-Titanium Endodontic Files

Abstract

In this study, we evaluate the surface roughness (SR) of three thermally treated nickel-titanium rotary instruments (i.e., TruNatomy [TN], ProTaper Gold [PTG], and EdgeTaper Platinum [ETP]) after impact testing with multiple autoclave sterilization cycles using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Overall, 60 thermally treated files were sourced (i.e., 20 TN, 20 ETP, and 20 PTG files), and each group was divided into four equal subgroups of five files (n = 5). An unsterilized group was assigned as the pre-autoclaving group (Cycle 0), and the other three groups underwent various autoclave sterilization cycles (Cycles 1, 5, and 10). The roughness average (Ra), root mean square (Rq), and average maximum peak-to-valley height (Rz) values were evaluated using SEM and ImageJ software. The Shapiro–Wilk test, one-way analysis of variance, and post-hoc Tukey test were used to analyze the data. The statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Before autoclaving, all instruments showed debris and SR but with no statistically significant differences existing between the groups. SR values decreased after one autoclaving cycle for all instruments. After five autoclave cycles, the Rz value of ETP was statistically higher compared with PTG and TN. After 10 autoclave cycles, the Ra and Rq values of TN were statistically higher compared with ETP and PTG. These results suggest that multiple autoclaving sterilization cycles influence the SR of TN, PTG, and ETP, with ETP showing higher levels of surface irregularities than PTG and TN.