Force and vibration analysis in mechanical preparation of root canals using endodontic files

Abstract

Endodontics is a branch of clinical dentistry that deals with diagnosing and treating inflammation and infection pulp and their repercussions. The primary objective of endodontic therapy includes saving and curing the tooth with infected and inflamed pulp. Endodontics treatment has been described as a clinical dental specialty that combines art and science. It is so because even though endodontics is based on scientific facts, providing a perfect root canal treatment (RCT) is still an art. Various approaches have been used to predict the failure or fracture of endodontic files during root canal treatment. These approaches include fractographic analysis, optical micrographs, scanning electron microscopic images, etc. Most of the previous studies utilized the simulated root canal with the help of endodontic blocks, which deviates highly from real-world practice. Every human has a different tooth structure and a different root canal anatomy. This effect cannot be noticed in simulated root canal preparation. Therefore, this study attempts to define the approaches for failure prediction of endodontic files using human-extracted teeth obtained with due procedures by following clinical ethics. A newly conceptualized and established root canal treatment setup capable of performing the root canal in-vitro experimental research work is developed for laboratory-based experiments. The endodontic files are used to prepare the root canal structure, which is one of the essential stages in canal preparation. The purpose of RCT is to remove all the debris and smear layers from the face of the inner layer of the root canal using an endodontic file. Thus, the designated root canal preparation method allows the endodontic instrument to reach the center portion of the pulp to remove infected and decayed tissue. The endodontic file sometimes fractures during the root canal treatment, usually without any visual degradation. The consequences of these fractured instrument fragments influence the success rate of root canal treatment. Therefore, early detection of such degradation is required during the initial phase of development of such failure.