Viresh Chopra
Treatment/Retreatment in endodontics has changed fundamentally in the last few years following the introduction of the surgical operating microscope. Cases that once seemed impossible became easy and exciting to operate. Although initial root canal therapy has been shown to be a predictable procedure with a high degree of success, failures can occur after treatment. As fewer teeth are extracted, an increasing number of retreatment cases have been recorded in the past 15 years. Utilization of the enhanced magnification devices in endodontic retreatment has brought significant advantages and has expanded the scope of indications using a non-surgical approach. Procedures such as bypassing a ledge, removing broken instrument or repair a perforation have become considerably more reliable. Also, there has been advances in terms of dental materials used in endodontics and one such advancement is in the field of root canal sealers. Lately new root canal sealers have been introduced by the name of “Bioceramics”. Bioceramic sealers are an attempt to develop a biocompatible sealer with ideal physical, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties. Bioceramic is a term introduced for an important subset of biomaterials that can be classified as bioinert, bioactive or biodegradable according to the interaction with surrounding tissues. However, apart from materials the root canal system itself plays an important role in the success of the endodontic therapy. This system is not as simple as it looks to be. The knowledge of the normal and its frequent variations can greatly enhance the success rate of endodontic practice. Curved root canals exhibit great difficulty in cleaning, shaping & obturation of the root canal system, therefore determining the degree of curvature of root canal before starting the endodontic treatment is mandatory.