21st century endodontics: part 3

Root canal treatment is often regarded as a simple technical exercise that results in a nice white line on the final radiograph. In fact nothing could be further from the truth, as may be seen from the case illustrated in Figure 1. It is hoped that the first two papers in this series have established that the rationale for modern root canal treatment is the removal of infection from the entire root canal system. This, of course, presumes correct diagnosis and treatment planning, and an essential knowledge of canal morphology. Endodontic preparation is a chemo-mechanical process and both the chemical and the mechanical components play an equal part. The term 'cleaning and shaping' may be associated with canal preparation from previous endodontic teaching. In the 21st century this has been subtly but essentially changed to 'shaping and cleaning'. Instruments are used to rapidly shape the canal to permit the ingress of chemical agents to the entire root canal system.