title: Orascopic endodontics: changing the way we "think" about endodontics in the 21st century.
abstract: Orascopic endodontics has helped bring visualization to what has literally been a "blind" specialty. The ease of operation and better operating ergonomics of fiber optic instrumentation has allowed the endodontist to identify and treat endodontic etiology more efficiently. The metamorphosis of understanding endodontics from an in vivo perspective is changing the way we "think" about the practice of endodontics. Prior to intracanal visualization, the cognitive process of determining when the canal was ready for obturation was merely an educated guess based on years of in vitro instrumentation research and postoperative follow-up studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, Northwestern University School of Dentistry, USA.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bahcall
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Barss
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003784:Dental Pulp Calcification / Q000628:therapy; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D019723:Endoscopes; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011671:Pulpitis / Q000628:therapy; D019233:Retreatment; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012390:Root Canal Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014584:User-Computer Interface