title: Effect of clinical use on the cyclic fatigue resistance of ProTaper nickel-titanium rotary instruments.
abstract: The resistance of ProTaper (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) nickel-titanium rotary instruments to cyclic fatigue was examined after their initial use in straight or curved canals in vivo. These instruments were rotated freely inside a steel phantom until separation. The number of rotations before failure and the lengths of the separated fragments were compared with data derived from new instruments under the same experimental setup (n = 20). With the exception of F1 and F3, instruments previously used in curved canals were more susceptible to cyclic fatigue than those previously used in straight canals (p < 0.05). Separation occurred predominantly at the D10 to D12 level. For the F series, a negative correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between the number of rotations before failure and the file diameters at their separation levels. ProTaper F3 instruments are highly susceptible to cyclic fatigue failure and should be reused with caution irrespective of whether they are initially used for shaping straight or curved canals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Hani F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Ounsi
authors.forename: Ziad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Salameh
authors.forename: Thakib
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Al-Shalan
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grandini
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Pashley
authors.forename: Franklin R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Tay
mesh_terms: D003722:Dental Alloys; D003762:Dental Instruments; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D017743:Equipment Reuse; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D009532:Nickel; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014025:Titanium; D019415:Torque
chemical_list: D003722:Dental Alloys; C040654:titanium nickelide; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium