An in Vitro Comparison of Root Canal Transportation By Reciproc File With and Without Glide Path

Objective: the aim of ideal canal preparation is to prevent iatrogenic aberrations such as transportation. the aim of this study was to evaluate the root canal trans-portation by reciproc file with and without glide path.materials and methods: thirty acrylic-resin blocks with a curvature of 60˚ and size#10 (2% taper) were assigned into two groups (n= 15). in group 1, the glide path was performed using stainless steel k-files size#10 and 15 at working length in group 2, canals were prepared with reciproc file system at working length. by using digital imaging software (autocad 2008), the pre-instrumentation and post-instrumentation digital images were superimposed over, taking the land-marks as reference points. then the radius of the internal and external curve of the specimens was calculated at three α, β and γ points (1mm to apex as α, 3mm to apex as β, and 5mm to apex as γ). the data were statically analyzed using the in-dependent t-test and mann-whitney u test by spss version 16. results: glide path was found significant for only external curve in the apical third of the canal; that is, 5mm to apex (p=0.005). but in the other third, canal modification was not significant (p> 0.008). conclusion: canal transportation in the apical third of the canal seems to be sig-nificantly reduced when glide path is performed using reciprocating files.