title: Root canal instruments for manual use: a review.
abstract: Root canal instruments can be subdivided into instruments made of different alloys (stainless steel, nickel-titanium and nickel-aluminium) and instruments with different geometric forms (e.g., instruments with short cutting segments). Several types of stainless steel and titanium-based instruments are presented and assessed by a review of the current literature. In summary, flexible stainless steel instruments with noncutting tips seem to be a decisive improvement in the development of an ideal root canal instrument. They are superior to titanium-based instruments in both cutting efficiency and instrumentation of curved root canals.
authors.affiliation: Zentrum für Zahn-, Mund- und Kieferheilkunde, University of Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schäfer
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D000535:Aluminum; D003762:Dental Instruments; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D013193:Stainless Steel; C013616:nitinol; D000535:Aluminum; D014025:Titanium