Objective: To examine the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviour of NiTi rotary endodontic instruments in aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution.
Methods: Four brands of NiTi rotary instrument (n=179) were subjected to a rotational-bending fatigue test at a rate of 250rpm until fracture, the instrument being immersed in 1.2% sodium hypochlorite solution. The surface strain amplitude, calculated from the curvature (from a pre-test photograph) and diameter of the fracture cross-section (from SEM photomicrograph) was plotted against the total number of revolutions to failure. An apparent fatigue-ductility exponent was determined from a regression line fitted to the LCF lives for each brand of instrument. All detached fragments were examined fractographically for crack initiation and the extent of crack extension into the cross-section. The values were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or chi2, where appropriate, at alpha=0.05.
Results: A linear strain-life relationship was obtained for all groups; the apparent fatigue-ductility exponent was similar between various brands (ANOVA, P>0.05), but not for the number of crack origins (chi2, P<0.05). There was an inverse, linear relationship between the square root of the extension of the fatigue-crack and the strain amplitude.
Significance: NiTi rotary instruments fatigued in hypochlorite shows a strain-life relationship with low-cycle and high-cycle fatigue regions. The LCF behaviour is not affected by the cross-sectional shape of the instrument. There appears to be a critical extent of crack propagation for various surface strain amplitudes leading to final, catastrophic fracture of the instrument.