2002 – VOLUME 31 – Issue 1

Nickel-titanium mechanised instruments have become an essential complement to traditional instruments for cleaning and shaping the root canal system. These instruments allow an easier and faster canal preparation than with a manual sequence. They respect more the canal trajectory, extrude less debris into the periapex and the regularity of the obtained preparation makes the cone fitting and obturation easier. However, because of the large number of systems that are available on the market and especially the lack of harmonisation between the designs, the sizes and the tapers, this confuses the comprehension and the clinical use of these instrumental sequences. In this context, the ProTaperTM system, is worth looking at because of the technical innovations and the original clinical protocol.