doi:10.1111/iej.
12674
Laboratory comparison of cyclic fatigue resistance
of WaveOne Gold, Reciproc and WaveOne files in
canals with a double curvature

lu1, S. Du
H. S. Topcßuog € n1, A. Aktı1 & G. Topcßuog
€ zgu
lu2
1
Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Erciyes University, Kayseri; and 2Department of Pedodontics, Faculty of
Dentistry, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Abstract

lu HS, Du
Topcßuog € zgu
lu G.
€ n S, Aktı A, Topcßuog
Laboratory comparison of cyclic fatigue resistance
WaveOne Gold, Reciproc and WaveOne files in canals with a
double curvature. International Endodontic Journal.
Aim To compare the resistance to cyclic fatigue of
WaveOne Gold (WOG), Reciproc and WaveOne (WO)
nickel–titanium files in an artificial root canal with a
double (S-shaped) curvature.
Methodology A total of 120 new WOG primary,
Reciproc R25 and WO primary files were tested in an
artificial, stainless steel canal with an S-shape (diame-
ter, 1.4 mm and length, 18 mm). Forty files from
each system were rotated until fracture to calculate
the number of cycles to failure (NCF). The length of
each fractured fragment was recorded. Data were
analysed using one-way analysis of variance and
Tukey’s post hoc tests.
Results The WOG primary (apical curvature:
928.87  293.69; coronal curvature 1102.32 
Introduction
The single-file NiTi systems, Reciproc (VDW, Munich,
Germany) and WaveOne (WO; Dentsply Maillefer, Bal-
laigues, Switzerland), allow root canal preparation
using a single instrument, thereby requiring less time
than full-sequence rotary systems (B€ urklein et al.
2012). The reciprocating motion of these NiTi systems
Correspondence: H€useyin Sinan Topcßuo
glu, Department of
Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Erciyes University,
Melikgazi, Kayseri 38039, Turkey (e-mail: topcuogluhs@
hotmail.com).
© 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
397.39 NCF) had higher cyclic fatigue resistance than
Reciproc R25 and WO primary in the apical and
coronal curvatures (P < 0.05). The Reciproc R25 file
of
(745.63  253.49 NCF) had significantly greater
cyclic fatigue resistance than the WO primary
(583.89  183.38 NCF) in the apical curvature
(P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the
cyclic fatigue resistance of the Reciproc R25 and WO
files in the coronal curvature (883.63  282.56 and
916.53  268.21 NCF, respectively) (P > 0.05).
There was no difference in fractured fragment lengths
of the WOG primary, Reciproc R25, and WO primary
files in either the apical or coronal curvature
(P > 0.05).
Conclusions WaveOne Gold primary files exhibited
greater cyclic fatigue resistance than Reciproc R25
and WO primary in an artificial canal with an S-
shape.
Keywords: cyclic fatigue, Reciproc, WaveOne Gold.
Received 6 April 2016; accepted 24 June 2016
relieves stress on the instrument by the counterclock-
wise (cutting action) and clockwise (release of the
instrument) movements, thereby extending their dura-
bility and increasing their resistance to cyclic fatigue
in comparison with systems that use continuous rota-
tion motion (Plotino et al. 2012). Recently, WO was
upgraded to WaveOne Gold (WOG; Dentsply Maillefer).
The kinematics of this system is unchanged, but the
section, size and geometry of the files have been modi-
fied to make the files more flexible. Additionally, the
metallurgy of the files was changed from M-wire to a
gold alloy, which provides greater flexibility than NiTi
and M-wire files (Hieawy et al. 2015).
International Endodontic Journal 1
  lu et al.
Cyclic fatigue resistance of endodontic files Topcß uog

Fracture of canal instruments used in rotary

motion occurs in two ways: fracture caused by tor-
sion and fracture caused by cyclic fatigue (Yared
2004, Parashos & Messer 2006, Perez-Higueras et al.
2014). Cyclic fatigue occurs when metal is subjected
to repeated cycles of tension and compression, caus-
ing its structure to break down and ultimately leading
to fracture (Gambarini et al. 2008).
The purpose of this study was to compare the resis-
tance to cyclic fatigue of WOG primary, Reciproc
R25, WO primary files in a canal with S-shaped. The
null hypothesis tested was that there is no difference
in the cyclic fatigue resistance of the WOG primary,
Reciproc R25 and WO primary files.

Materials and methods

Results of power calculation were based on research
by Inan & Aydin (2012). The sample size for each
group was estimated to be a minimum 20; this study
used 40 samples for each group. A total of 120 new
WOG, Reciproc and WO instruments were tested in a
double-curved (S-shaped) artificial canal. The instru-
ments selected were the following: WOG primary (size
25), Reciproc R25 (size 25) and WO primary (size
25). Before the study, all files were inspected under a
stereomicroscope (Leica MZ 9.5; Leica, Wetzlar, Ger-
many) at 259 magnification for visible signs of defor-
mation. None of the files were discarded.
Forty files from each system were subjected to cyc-
lic fatigue testing using a stainless steel block contain-
ing an S-shaped artificial canal (diameter, 1.4 mm
and length, 18 mm) specifically developed for the pur-
pose and which has been used in previous studies
(Al-Sudani et al. 2012, Neelakantan et al. 2015). The
coronal curve had a 60° angle of curvature and a
radius of 5 mm and was located 8 mm from the tip
of the instrument; the apical curve had a 70° angle
of curvature, a radius of 2 mm and a centre 2 mm
from the tip (Fig. 1).
The electric handpiece was mounted on a device to
allow for precise and reproducible placement of each
file inside the S-shaped artificial canal. WOG primary,
Reciproc R25 and WO primary instruments were acti-
vated using a 6 : 1 reduction handpiece (Sirona Den-
tal Systems GmbH, Bensheim, Germany) powered by
a torque-controlled motor (Silver; VDW, Munich, Ger-
many) and using their respective proprietary move-
ments (RECIPROC ALL for Reciproc R25 and WO
ALL for WO and WOG primary). An oil (WD-40 Com-
pany, Milton Keynes, UK) was used as a lubricant to
Figure 1 Cyclic fatigue testing device.
reduce friction while working inside the canal. A con-
tinuous up-and-down pecking movement was incor-
porated to simulate the pecking motion in an actual
clinical situation (De-Deus et al. 2014). The experi-
mental procedure was performed by one operator to
avoid interoperator variability. The number of cycles
to failure (NCF) for each instrument was calculated
by multiplying the time (in seconds) to failure by the
number of rotations or cycles per second. The manu-
facturers claim that the RECIPROC ALL mode has a
speed of 300 rpm, and the WO ALL mode has a speed
of 350 rpm (Higuera et al. 2015). Moreover, in dou-
ble-curved artificial canals, if the fracture occurred
first in the apical curve, the time to fracture and NCF
were also registered for the coronal fragment. The
length of each fractured tip was measured using a
digital caliper with accuracy to 0.01 mm (Absolute
Digimatic, Mitutoyo Corp, Kawasaki, Japan).
Statistical analysis
Using SPSS 20.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL,
USA), the NCF values and length of fractured frag-
ments were analysed by one-way analysis of variance
and Tukey’s post hoc tests. Statistical significance was
set at P-value <5%.

2 International Endodontic Journal © 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
  lu et al. Cyclic fatigue resistance of endodontic files
Topcß uog

Table 1 The number of cycles to fail-

Coronal curvature Apical curvature
ure (NCF) and length (mm) of frac-
tured fragments of instruments during NCF FL NCF FL
cyclic fatigue testing
Group n Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

WaveOne Gold 40 1102.32 397.39 5.01 1.52 928.87 293.69 2.58 0.85
Primary
WaveOne 40 916.53 268.21 5.69 0.79 583.89 183.38 2.12 0.55
Primary
Reciproc R25 40 883.63 282.56 5.71 1.41 745.63 253.49 2.06 0.24

NCF, Number of cycles to failure; FL, Fracture length; SD, Standard deviation.

(including torsional stress) that act together at the

Results
The mean NCF and length of the fractured fragments
for WOG primary, Reciproc R25 and WO primary are
presented in Table 1. All files fractured first in the
apical curvature and then in the coronal curvature.
WOG primary file had significantly higher NCF than
Reciproc R25 and WO primary files in the apical and
coronal curvatures (P < 0.05). Reciproc R25 file had
significantly higher NCF than WO primary file in the
apical curvature (P < 0.05). Reciproc R25 and WO
primary files had similar cyclic fatigue resistance val-
ues in the coronal curvature (P > 0.05). There was
no significant difference between the WOG primary,
Reciproc R25 and WO primary files with respect to
the lengths of the fractured file fragments in either
the apical or coronal curvature (P > 0.05).
Discussion
Al-Sudani et al. (2012) stated that fatigue of NiTi
instruments occurs when used in S-shaped canals
and that instrument fracture will occur during use
inside the apical curvature. In the literature, there is
limited information on cyclic fatigue resistance of NiTi
instruments during preparation of S-shaped canals.
Moreover, the cyclic fatigue resistance of WOG, Reci-
proc and WO files when used in S-shaped canals has
not been compared.
A major drawback of most laboratory studies that
have tested the fatigue behaviour of NiTi rotary files
is that the various contributing factors (i.e. the mate-
rial properties and design and dimensions of each file,
which are specific to each brand tested) cannot be
totally eliminated. This makes it difficult to quantify
the effect of a single variable on fatigue behaviour
(Cheung et al. 2011). The clinical relevance of the
results of such tests is difficult to assess because this
condition differs from intracanal instrumentation in
which the fracture occurs due to several factors
same time (Plotino et al. 2009). Yao et al. (2006) sta-
ted that although the use of extracted teeth simulates
clinical situations, they are not anatomically stan-
dardized. Therefore, extracted teeth are not ideal for
testing the cyclic fatigue of NiTi instruments. The cyc-
lic fatigue test was performed using a stainless steel
block containing the double curvature artificial canal.
All instruments tested in this study fractured in the
apical curvature area. The explanation for this may
be that the apical curvature was more abrupt than
the coronal curvature, which is in agreement with
previous studies evaluating cyclic fatigue resistance of
various files in double curvature canals (Al-Sudani
et al. 2012, Duke et al. 2015).
Cheung et al. (2011) determined that instruments
with a triangular cross-sectional design possessed
greater cyclic fatigue resistance than those with a
square cross-sectional design. This difference is related
to the reduced metal mass of the files with a triangu-
lar cross-section compared to files with a square
cross-section and similar diameter (Capar et al. 2015).
The WO, Reciproc and WOG files have a modified
convex triangular cross-section design, S-shaped
design and parallelogram-shaped design, respectively.
The results of this study show that WOG file exhibits
greater cyclic fatigue resistance than Reciproc R25
and WO files in the apical and coronal curvatures.
This could be due to metallurgical differences between
instruments. Reciproc R25 and WO primary files are
made with M-wire NiTi alloy, whereas WOG file is
made with gold alloy. The null hypothesis can be
rejected, as the WOG file exhibited greater cyclic fati-
gue resistance than the Reciproc R25 and WO pri-
mary instruments.
Castell a et al. (2012) stated that movement
o-Escriv
kinematics of NiTi instruments is one factor that
might influence the resistance of NiTi files to cyclic
fatigue. In previous studies, it has been reported that
a reciprocating motion could increase the cyclic

© 2016 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Endodontic Journal 3
  lu et al.
Cyclic fatigue resistance of endodontic files Topcß uog
fatigue resistance of NiTi instruments (De-Deus et al.
2010, Varela-Pati~ no et al. 2010). Previous studies
evaluated the cyclic fatigue resistance of Reciproc and
WO files in artificial canals with several angles. Plo-
tino et al. (2012) evaluated the cyclic fatigue resis-
tance of Reciproc R25 and WO primary files in a
canal with a 60° angle and determined that Reciproc
R25 exhibited greater cyclic fatigue resistance than
WO instruments. Kim et al. (2012) compared the cyc-
lic fatigue resistance of Reciproc R25 and WO pri-
mary files in a canal with a 45° angle of curvature
and determined that Reciproc R25 had greater cyclic
fatigue resistance than WO file. Arias et al. (2012)
compared the resistance to cyclic fatigue of the Reci-
proc R25 and WO primary instruments in a canal
with a 60° angle and found that Reciproc R25 instru-
ment was more resistant to cyclic fatigue than the
WO primary file.
In this study, all fractured fragments had the same
mean length in either the apical or coronal curvature.
The fractured length of the file was at the centre of the
curvature or just below this point, which confirms the
positioning of the instruments in a precise trajectory.
Conclusions
WaveOne Gold primary files exhibited greater cyclic
fatigue resistance than the Reciproc R25 and WO pri-
mary in an artificial canal with a double curvature.
Additionally, Reciproc R25 file had greater cyclic fati-
gue resistance than WO primary file in the apical
curvature.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have stated explicitly that there is no
conflict of interest in connection with this article.
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