A comparison of the effects of three glide path techniques in apical transportation of curved root canals prepared with ProTaper Next

Introduction
During the preparation of curved root canals, various complications may occur as a change in original path and apical transportation. Securing a glide path has a good effect on alleviating these complications.

Objective
This study aimed to compare three glide path techniques, including K-file Manual, ProGlider, and PathFile in the apical transportation of curved root canals prepared with ProTaper Next.

Material and methods
In a laboratory study, 40 canals of upper and lower molars with a curvature ranging from 25 to 45 degrees have been selected for this study. Specimens were divided randomly into four groups, with ten canals each. Each group achieved a glide path with one of the systems mentioned above, while the fourth group remained without any glide path achievement. Then, the canals were prepared using ProTaper Next system. Radial images were taken pre- and post-instrumentation, and analyzed in AutoCAD, 2018 software. Data were examined statistically using SPSS version 25 software.

Results
Thee ProGlider group (PG) showed the lowest apical transportation, and no statistically significant differences were found between the Manual K-file (M) and PathFile (PF) groups in terms of decreasing the apical transportation, with p = 0.001.

Conclusions
The ProGlider file combined with the ProTaper Next system showed reduced apical transportation compared with PathFile and Manual K-file, which presented a similar effect in apical transportation.