Fracture Rate in Smart Tract X3 in Root Canal Treatment of Tooth

Background &

File fracture is one of the main concerns in root canal therapy, which can affect endodontic treatment outcomes. The present study aimed to assess the fracture rate of the Smart Tract X3 as a new file system, in comparison with the commonly used rotary file system, during the preparation of simulated severely curved root canals.

A total of 180 resin blocks with simulated severely curved canals were randomly assigned to three equal groups (n=60) including Smart Tract X3, ProTaper Universal and Neoniti. Each set of files was used for cleaning and shaping of five canals, in total, 12 sets of files were used to prepare 60 channels in each group. All files were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The number (%) of fractures, location, length and distance of fractured segments from the apex of the block were recorded.

Overall 60 files of Smart tractX3 and ProTaper universal (5 files in a set) and 36 files of the Neoniti (3 files in a set) were used. The fracture rate did not show a statistically significant difference in between-groups comparison. All fractures occurred at the apical third of the canal with the mean length of fractured segments and the distance of fractured segments from the apex of the block 2.228±0.216 mm and 0.845±0.186 mm, respectively.

There was no significant statistical difference among Smart Tract X3, ProTaper Universal, and Neoniti files regarding the incidence of fracture during the preparation of five severely curved canals.