Several months ago we began using a new root canal technique and have found it to be vastly improved compared to the methods we were taught back in dental school some 30 years ago. If you have ever undergone a root canal, you will remember that we use little files that are twisted with our fingers. This technique, when followed to completion, was a very painstaking  as well as time-consuming one. Some years ago we began using a somewhat different technique which involved using a French-made piece of equipment to clean out the canals using an electric motor and rotary files. This technique was certainly a huge improvement over the finger file techniques we previously used. But, now, our newest system which was developed by Dentsply Corporation and called WaveOne™ offers even more advanced improvements.

The major improvement as far as patients will be concerned regarding this newest system is that cleaning the canals is completed in a fraction of the time that it used to take when we were filing with our fingers. In addition, the files used with this technique are meant to be used one time only. Each pre-sterilized file assures that there will be no contamination since each patient has her own single-use file.

In addition to these improvements in instrumentation, this technique offers an activator, which may more appropriately be called a vibrator, to agitate an antimicrobial or antibiotic solution within each prepared canal. This agitation thoroughly cleans the canal and any adjacent pores in the root where bacteria may hide, thus offering more complete debridement of each canal.

Finally, this system utilizes a filler which is warmed first to allow it to be more flowable. This flowability permits the filler material to better seal not only the canal itself but also any adjacent openings or tubules in the root.

We as dental practitioners have truly enjoyed using this vastly improved system, and patients have expressed their opinions of how simple and straightforward having a root canal felt to them. This was especially true of those patients who had previously undergone root canal therapy with older techniques and systems.

If you have any questions about root canal therapy or would like more information about the system that we use, feel free to contact us @ www.DesignsForDentalHealth.com or by calling our office @ 908.359.6655.