by Dr Jay Kotay, Smithton Dental Clinic, Smithton, TAS
Due to occupational overuse, I had tendonitis in my right index finger. Due to the pain when using hand files, I started referring root-canal patients to an endondontic specialist. I soon realised I needed to move across to a rotary endo system. I purchased the Morita Tri-Auto ZX, attended a couple of conferences on its use, and began practising on extracted teeth. Once my skill level was high enough, I began to use it in my practice. I found it didn’t aggravate my tendonitis and the quality of my work also improved.
What’s good about it
Except for the most difficult cases, I no longer have to refer my root canal patients. The handpiece does all the work for me. I still use a size 10 and a size 15 hand file to create a glide path but because both these files are so slender, they don’t require a great deal of effort.
My main problem was with the larger files and the difficulty I had in getting them past the curve in the canal. The nickel titanium files I use with this system do the job quickly and efficiently with minimal strain on my fingers.
This is a great tool that would really help any dentist suffering from wrist or finger problems.
What’s not so good
It’s important to be cautious with any rotary endo system. If you come across a tight area, you don’t want to force the issue. It’s much better to go back to hand files and use them to loosen things up a bit. With really challenging cases where the chance of a rotary file breaking in the canal is high, I still refer patients to a specialist
Where did you get it
Henry Schein Halas
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