Barry Musikant
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THOUGHT THAT it would be worthwhile to discuss the goals that we have set
for ourselves and for the courses we teach in endodontic techniques.
We want to help all of you do far better endodontics with less stress and
significantly lower costs. We developed the SafeSider® reamer
instrumentation and EZ-Fill® obturation systems as the tools to accomplish
these goals. We want to show as many open-minded dentists as we possibly
can (and as many not-so-many not-so-open-minded dentists) that the SafeSider
instrumentation and EZ-Fill techniques will change their lives by virtually
eliminating instrument separation and reducing their overhead by about
90 percent without compromising the final results.
Many of you have taken the courses in which we teach
these simplified yet uncompromising methods. If you have taken one
of our courses more than a year ago, I enthusiastically suggest that you
take one again. We have streamlined our teaching techniques and the sequences
we use to produce excellence even more efficiently. Demonstration
and practice are now on natural teeth rather than plastic blocks.
If you have not taken our courses, consider doing
so. It is not too strong a statement to say that the learning experience
has the potential to change your life. I say this with growing conviction,
based on comments from dentists who have taken the courses. I am
very active on the Dentaltown.com forum, the largest forum for dentists
on the Internet. There I offer dentists all over the world the opportunity
to take hands-on courses with me. Many have taken me up on the offer
and have then described their experiences for the membership. Their
comments regarding the learning experience and their subsequent use of
the two systems we teach have been so uniformly positive that we know we
are accomplishing something that is unquestionably constructive.
Please understand that undertaking and continuing
the task of teaching SafeSider reamer instrumentation and EZ-Fill obturation
techniques truly require the desire to fight the good fight. In part,
we are working to overcome the negative results of misleading instruction
in dental schools. For years, dental students were subjected to an
inadequate and ineffective method of performing endodontics. They
were taught that files were more efficient than reamers when, in fact,
K-files are one of the least efficient ways to shape canals. They
were taught to fear and avoid the use of Peeso or Gates Glidden reamers
in canal preparations when, in fact, the smaller sizes can be used safely
and simply.
We are also working to overcome the misinformation
promulgated by major dental companies. They have promoted rotary
NiTi as the answer to all the deficiencies of traditional endodontics.
Granted, traditional endodontics was so limited in its potential to produce
adequate endodontic therapy that in contrast almost any other system looked
good. Rotary NiTi instruments eliminate hand fatigue and canal distortion
while producing shapes of greater taper that promise far better debridement
and obturation. As it turns out, the advantages of these instruments
come at the cost of certain disadvantages. One disadvantage is obvious.
These instruments cost about 20 times as much as traditional endodontic
instruments. The second disadvantage is far more discouraging.
Rotary NiTi instruments do not have the strength and resilience of stainless
steel and will break unpredictably, either from excess torque caused by
apical binding or from cyclic fatigue brought on by rotation around a significant
curve.
The weakness of rotary NiTi instruments has been
the impetus behind a whole second wave of innovation that has added to
the cost of a system that is already 20 times more expensive than traditional
techniques. Such expensive tools as autoreversing torque-sensing
handpieces, reduction handpieces, and electric handpieces as well as the
recommendation that NiTi instruments be thrown away after one use have
added immensely to the costs.
Yet, many of those who have mastered the rotary
NiTi techniques rationalize higher expenses and occasional instrument separation
by noting that they generally produce far better results more quickly than
they ever did using traditional techniques. It is human nature not
to abandon something that you believe has improved your life, and considering
the state of traditional endodontics, rotary NiTi can certainly make that
claim. People are even more likely to resist making a change when
they believe that there is really no alternative that can further improve
their present situation.
So, this is the great challenge that’s worth the
good fight: To show that the SafeSider reamer instrumentation and EZ-Fill
obturation techniques virtually eliminate instrument separation and reduce
overhead by about 90 percent without compromising the results. These results
are attained in a simplified, time-efficient manner that improves the productivity
of the dentists who use the techniques.
Possibly, the most basic question someone could
ask is, “If the SafeSider reamers and the EZ-Fill obturation techniques
are as good as you say, why isn’t everyone using them?” The
converse of that question would be, “Since not everyone knows about them,
why are those who do know so enthusiastic about using them?” The
reality of the marketplace is that getting the message out takes time and
money. The more money invested, the less time required. This
is the route that the big rotary NiTi companies have taken. If one
cannot invest millions in marketing, superior ideas and innovations must
give a new product or technique the chance of having an impact in the dental
community.
Thanks to Dentaltown.com and its founders, Howard
Farran and his wife Judith, we have had an opportunity to level the playing
field with the “big boys” somewhat and present these innovative new approaches
to a large number of dentists. Better yet, we’ve been able to get
their feedback for the betterment of the entire profession. In fact,
this peer-review feedback is readily available to anyone who joins Dentaltown.com
(at no cost) and goes to its endodontic file section.
September-October 2003
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The
SafeSider reamer instrumentation and EZ-Fill obturation techniques virtually
eliminate instrument separation and reduce overhead by about 90 percent
without compromising the results.
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