Remedying and preventing endodontic rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) file breakage

Of all the procedural problems that can occur when practicing dentistry, endodontic file breakage is one dilemma that not only can lead to extreme stress for the clinician, but can cause great anxiety for the patient as well. Separated rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) files can also pose an increased risk of post-endodontic complications. Understanding why and how endodontic file breakage occurs, including the two main factors that contribute to this type of incident, can help clinicians employ prevention strategies and overcome this predicament if it does occur. The purpose of this article is to discuss the causes of separated endodontic rotary NiTi files, explain how to prevent this problem from happening, describe the removal of a broken file, and discuss the prognosis for instances where the separated file cannot be removed.