Rotary Instruments

In the last decade we have seen several generations of Nickel Titanium rotary instruments. They have been very helpful in negotiating curved canals and creating tapered preparations. There are numerous rotary systems from different manufacturers. Although some design features vary, in essence they all do the same thing. The only one that is different is from Lightspeed.

Lightspeed files are designed to instrument at the apex, which is really the most important part of the root canal system. Its unique design makes it very flexible and prevents binding the canal walls anywhere but at the apex. That allows Lightspeed files to safely enlarge the apical diameter. Since apical foramen is almost never round and often has the narrow diameter of #20 file or larger, traditional instrumentation does not allow for proper cleaning of the apex. By enlarging the foramina to encompass both narrow and wide diameters, most of the apical bacteria and their byproducts are eliminated.