Fracture resistance of dental nickel-titanium rotary instruments with novel surface treatment: Thin film metallic glass coating.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments are widely used in endodontic therapy because they are efficient with a higher success rate. However, an unpredictable fracture of instruments may happen due to the surface characteristics of imperfection (or irregularity). This study assessed whether a novel surface treatment could increase fatigue fracture resistance of dental NiTi rotary instruments. METHODS: A 200- or 500-nm thick Ti-zirconium-boron (Ti-Zr-B) thin film metallic glass was deposited on ProTaper Universal F2 files using a physical vapor deposition process. The characteristics of coating were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. In cyclic fatigue tests, the files were performed in a simulated root canal (radius=5 mm, angulation=60°) under a rotating speed of 300rpm. The fatigue fractured cross sections of the files were analyzed with their fractographic performances through scanning electron microscopy images. RESULTS: The amorphous structure of the Ti-Zr-B coating was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. The surface of treated files presented smooth morphologies without grinding irregularity. For the 200- and 500-nm surface treatment groups, the coated files exhibited higher resistance of cyclic fatigue than untreated files. In fractographic analysis, treated files showed significantly larger crack-initiation zone; however, no significant differences in the areas of fatigue propagation and catastrophic fracture were found compared to untreated files. CONCLUSION: The novel surface treatment of Ti-Zr-B thin film metallic glass on dental NiTi rotary files can effectively improve the fatigue fracture resistance by offering a smooth coated surface with amorphous microstructure.

Fatigue life enhancement of NiTi rotary endodontic instruments by progressive reciprocating operation.

AIM: To evaluate the effect of reciprocating amplitude and progressive angular increment on fatigue life enhancement of NiTi rotary endodontic instruments. METHODOLOGY: ProTaper F2 instruments were operated in steel artificial canals with both stationary reciprocating (SR) and progressive reciprocating (PR) motions. The SR motions involved symmetric to and fro reciprocation of ± 180(o) , ± 135(o) , ± 90(o) , ± 60(o) and ± 45(o) . The PR motions were ± 45(o) stationary motion superimposed with angular increments of 7(o) , 11(o) , 22.5(o) or 31(o) whenever an instrument completed 1, 10 or 30 reciprocating cycles (rc). The fatigue lives were compared with those under continuous rotation (CR) and a reciprocating operation with a forward 144(o) and backward 72(o) motion proposed by Yared (2008). The statistical significance of these operating modes on fatigue life was examined using one way anova and post hoc Tukey's tests at P = 0.05. Fractographic analysis was also applied to probe the fracture mechanisms of different rotation motions. RESULTS: Fatigue life increased with decreasing reciprocating amplitude. Operating in the SR increased fatigue life by 355% over that in the CR. Except for the 22.5(o) increment, all PR motions yielded longer fatigue lives than the SR motion. A progressive reciprocating operation with a ± 45(o) reciprocating amplitude and a + 7(o) progressive angular increment every 10 reciprocating cycles (± 45(o) /10rc/+7(o) ) increased fatigue life by 990% over that in the CR motion. In terms of life enhancement over the CR motion, the larger the curvature the less are the differences between different movements. Single crack initiation sites were found in the CR and SR motions, while three crack initiation sites were typical in the ± 45(o) /10rc/+7(o) motion. CONCLUSIONS: Fatigue life increased with decreasing reciprocating amplitude in stationary reciprocation. A progressive reciprocating operation with ± 45(o) /10rc/+7(o) motion led to significant fatigue life enhancement and multiple fatigue crack initiation in NiTi endodontic instruments.

Influence of heat treatment on cyclic fatigue and cutting efficiency of ProTaper Universal F2 instruments.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Heat pretreatment can improve the cyclic fatigue life of nickel-titanium (NiTi) instruments. This study evaluated the effects of two different heat treatments on the cyclic fatigue resistance and cutting efficiency of ProTaper Universal F2 files. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The files were divided into three groups: no treatment (control), heat treatment at 400°C (HT400) and heat treatment at 600°C (HT600). The phase transformation of the files was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry. In cyclic fatigue tests, the differences in file performance in four simulated canals among the three groups were assessed. The cutting efficiency was tested at four cutting portions (3 mm, 6 mm, 9 mm, and 12 mm) from the tip of the file. RESULTS: Differential scanning calorimetry showed a prolonged phase transformation of the files only after 600°C treatment. At 3 mm cutting portion, 400°C heat-treated files had significantly better cutting ability than those in the control group. However, the files in the HT600 group had significantly lower cutting efficiency than those in the other two groups at the four tested positions. In the cyclic fatigue test, fatigue lives of the files after 400°C and 600°C treatment were prolonged from 2.1 to 2.8 times and from 1.7 to 5.5 times, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although 600°C treatment increased resistance to cyclic fatigue, it reduced the cutting efficiency of the files. The 400°C treatment maintained the cutting ability and prolonged the cyclic fatigue life of the files. Therefore, for clinical use of ProTaper Universal F2 files, 400°C pretreatment is a better choice than 600°C pretreatment.