Objectives: The aim was to investigate the efficacy of citric acid and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-based treatments on smear layer removal and blood clot formation and stabilization.
Method and materials: After scaling and root planing, 126 root samples were divided into seven groups treated with: deionized water; saline; citric acid solution; Ultradent Citric Acid gel; EDTA solution; EDTA-based PrefGel; or untreated. Each group was divided into three subgroups: I for the evaluation of smear layer removal and surface wettability, II and III for the evaluation of blood clot formation and stabilization in static or dynamic rinsing conditions.
Results: Conditioning agent treatments increased surface wettability with respect to untreated samples (Ultradent: 45 ± 1 degrees, P = 6.2 × 10-3; EDTA: 36 ± 5 degrees, P = 8.9 × 10-7; PrefGel: 47 ± 7 degrees, P = 3.2 × 10-2). Smear layer removal (30% to 60% with respect to untreated samples) was observed for all the conditioning agents. Clot was absent on untreated samples and samples treated with deionized water. Clot quality was significantly higher for samples treated with conditioning agents (P < .05) and similar between group II and III (P > .05). A statistically significant difference (P = .027) was observed for clot coverage of the saline group, comparing static and dynamic rinsing, confirming the positive effect of treatments on clot stabilization.
Conclusions: The use of conditioning agents improves smear layer removal and clot formation and stabilization with respect to scaling and root planing procedure only, which is, however, considered an essential procedure to promote wound healing in periodontal surgery.