The opinions within this web page are not ours.
Authors have been credited for the individual posts where they are
Summary of personal endodontic insights
by Barry Musikant on Mon May 16, 2011 7:53 pm
Source: www.endomailmessageboard.com
1. Instruments with more vertically oriented flutes shave the dentin away with far more efficiency than
instruments that have more horizontally oriented flutes. The above statement is predicated on the fact
that the predominant motion used with the instruments is watchwinding. The instruments we typically use
are K-files that have horizontally oriented flutes, just what we don’t want. We should be using reamers
that have more vertically oriented flutes. Very few if any schools teach this although it has such noted
advocates as Dr. Herb Schilder. Furthermore, once K-files have finished the glidepath, the subsequent
rotary NiTi instruments are all designed similarly to K-reamers with their more vertically oriented flutes.
This makes sense since rotation is an even more pronounced form of horizontal motion than watch winding.
To drive home the truth that more vertically oriented instruments make more sense, consider the fact that
the shaving blade is at right angles to the plane of motion when one shaves. If it were not we would be
cutting our face (without removing facial hair). It is not good for our face and it is not what we want
to accomplish when we attempt to shave away dentin from the canal walls.
2. Once it has been established that reamers with more vertically oriented flutes are a more efficient
design than the horizontally oriented flutes on K-files, an extension of that logic calls for a flat along
the working length of the reamers because they create two vertical columns of chisels that further improve
the shaving ability of the instruments in addition to making them more flexible (thinner in cross section)
and even less engaging along length reducing the resistance they encounter when negotiating apically.
This design modification also increases the tactile perception that these instruments deliver to the dentist
giving him a greater ability to differentiate between a tight canal and a solid wall and directing him when
to remove the instrument, prebend it and negotiate manually around any impediments encountered. The asymmetric
design also gives the instrument the ability to differentiate between a round and oval canal an attribute that
tells the dentist when he must shape the canal to a greater internal diameter or at least work all the
circumferential walls effectively.
3. Endodontis instruments made from stainless steel actually have more advantage in usage than NiTi.
Where NiTi is superelastic, it also rebounds to the straight position tending to selectively work the outside
walls of curved canals. Stainless steel can be prebent and if the relieved reamer design is incorporated a
good deal of the stiffness is reduced. Furthermore, the stainless steel can be treated to make it close to
dead soft eliminating any rebound effect that tends to distort to the outer wall of curved canals.
4. 30º reciprocation virtually eliminates the torsional stress and cyclic fatigue associated with rotary NiTi
that unpredictably leads to instrument separation.
5. By combining treated stainless steel that is designed as a relieved reamer an instrument has been designed
that negotiate thru the canal with minimal resistance and conforms to the most tortuous canals as they do so.
By using these instruments with either a tight watch winding stroke or in the 30º reciprocating handpiece
separation is virtually eliminated.
6. We can now shape canals to a size that is dictated by the biologic needs of the tooth rather than limited
by the metallurgic properties of the metal used. In short, we can shape canals to a wider apical dimension
if and when called for without fear of breakage, a fear that in the past has caused us to shape canals more
conservatively than the biologic needs that the tooth demands.
7. The objective of obturation is to create a stable three-dimensional fill. Thermoplastic obturation cannot
produce a three dimensional fill because the materials used in obturation must shrink as their insertional
temperature cools to body temperature, from 201º C to 37º producing a contraction of the gutta percha between
4-5%. This reality undermines the major investment required to do thermoplastic obturation and further
questions the judgment of employing a system that with just a little bit of overheating can damage both
the integrity of the root and the pdl.
8. Under any circumstances, it is the cement interface and not the gutta percha that seals the tooth. In that
regard, it doesn’t matter whether or not the cement interface is thick or thin as long as it has properties
that ensure its stability. It must also have additional properties to ensure a good long term seal including
the ability to physically and chemically bond to the dentin and the gutta percha point(s), dimensional
stability during polymerization, high resistance to water degradation, minimal apical irritation if and when
extruded beyond the confines of the root and the ability to be digested by the macrophage if and when it is
extruded into the periapical tissues. These properties are best found in epoxy resin cements, sealers that
have been used and researched for their use in endodontics for over 65 years.
9. An excellent way to apply the epoxy resin cements is via the bidirectional spiral, a tool that floods the
root with cement while preventing its extrusion beyond the apex in the process.
10. In highly oval canals, a spreader can be used to create lateral space for the placement of secondary points,
but the force applied to the spreader should never exceed the weight of ones hand. To use more force can
damage the root or cause a rebound in the highly compressed gutta percha that will create a void when the
force is removed compromising the three dimensional fill we want.
11. Each practioner has different levels of skill, but despite this innate differential, a system that is designed
to shape uniformly, not break in usage that easily adapts to the canal anatomy without snapping back to the
straight position will make life easier for all independent of the skill level.
12. In order of importance, I would rank the use of relieved reamers over K-files as the most significant insight
we have in improving day to day endodontics. Switching to reamers entails no change in the present technique
of those using K-files. The only perceived difference will be in the increased ease of use, the ability to
shape to greater dimensions without distortion and the significant reduction in hand fatigue even when used
manually. The second most important insight was coupling the relieved reamers to the 30º reciprocating handpiece.
Together they eliminate the bulk of the stress encountered in shaping increasingly curved canals.
As more dentists incorporate these changes, we will see wider apical preparations, less distortion to the outer wall
that will produce more consistent fills used with materials that expand as they warm to body temperature after
placement rather than shrinking as they cool from insertion temperature to body temperature.
Regards, Barry
