Background: Calcium hydroxide (CH) has been shown to be an effective intracanal medicament during endodontic therapy. Any CH residue on the canal walls negatively affects the quality of the root filling. The present study was planned to comparatively analyze the efficacy of manual and ultrasonic methods in removal of Calcium hydroxide from the canals. Material and methods: The study was conducted in the department of conservative dentistry and endodontics of dental institution. After preparation of the canals, CH was placed into the canals and incubated for 14 days. After removing from incubator teeth were divided into two groups, Group M and Group U, based on the method of removal of CH from the canal. In Group M, the removal of CH paste was done manually using Size 30 Flexo file and NaOCl as irrigant. In Group U, the removal of CH paste was done using ultrasonic instrumentation and NaOCl as irrigant. Results: On comparing the gray values before application and after application, there was a statistically significant difference which means after removal of CH from the canals, the canals did not attained previous empty state. On comparison of both the techniques regarding difference of gray levels before application of CH and after removal of CH for each level, it was observed that the difference was statistically non-significant between both the techniques. Conclusion: Both the techniques, manual and ultrasonic were not proficient in eliminating calcium hydroxide properly from the root canals. There were no statistical differences among the thirds analyzed.
Keywords: Calcium hydroxide, Manual technique, Root canal, Ultrasonic technique