Penetration of constricted canals with modified K files.
A technique using K files with modified tips has been developed for the penetration of constricted canals. The tip of a #10 K file was sliced diagonally to make it thinner. Because this modified K file has an especially fine tip and an appropriate stiffness, it followed constricted or sharply curved canals well and had a high penetration potential. The author attempted to penetrate to the apical foramen in all 1844 canals of 977 teeth treated from 1987 to 1994. In 263 canals (14.3%) that could not be penetrated with conventional #10 K files, further attempts were made with the modified K files. As a result, the number of the nonpenetrated canals was reduced to 75 (4.1%). There were 7 file breakages and 14 accidental perforations.
Kobayashi
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Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003762:Dental Instruments; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*