Other

San Diego Swiss Machining, Inc.

Endo Inventions LLC

Ruddle, Clifford, J.

Sharp, Robert H.

Clifford J Ruddle

Teresa R Hickok

Robert H Sharp

Stephen Barker

Claude E Martin

Teresa Hickok

An endodontic activator is provided to facilitate the removal of pulp tissue, the smear layer, bacteria and related irritants from a root canal system. The activator is a sonically driven activator made from a strong, flexible, non-metallic, and non-cutting material. The activator can be smooth, flocked or brush-like. The activator comprises a snap-on coupler which is adapted to attach the tool to a driver without the use of tools. The activator can be provided with fluid passages which allow for irrigating reagents to be delivered into or vacuumed from the root canal space during endodontic procedures. By inducing sonic vibrations in the activator, hydrodynamic phenomena are induced in the solution in the root canal to enhance deep lateral cleaning of the root canal system of the tooth.

Method for cleaning a root canal system

An endodontic tool is provided to facilitate the removal of the smear layer and to enhance deep lateral cleaning of a root canal system. The tool is comprised of a sonic or ultrasonically driven activator which is made from a strong, flexible, non-metallic, and non-cutting material. The activator can be smooth. A snap-on coupler is adapted to attach the tool to a driver via a snap on action and without the use of tools. The driver will vibrate, sonically or ultrasonically, the flexible activator within a root canal of a tooth. The tool can be provided with fluid passages which allow for irrigating reagents to be delivered through the activator and into the root canal space during endodontic procedures.

Apparatus for cleaning a root canal system

An endodontic tool is provided to facilitate the removal of the smear layer and to enhance deep lateral cleaning of a root canal system. The tool includes a sonic driven activator which is made from a strong, flexible, non-metallic, and non-cutting material. The activator can be smooth. A snap-on coupler is adapted to attach the tool to a driver via a snap on action and without the use of tools. The driver will vibrate, sonically or ultrasonically, the flexible activator within a root canal of a tooth. The tool can be provided with fluid passages which allow for irrigating reagents to be delivered through the activator and into the root canal space during endodontic procedures.

A cannula assembly is removably mountable to a syringe body having a pair of side-by-side chambers; there being an opening into each chamber at a bottom of the syringe. The cannula assembly includes a connector and a dual lumen assembly extending from the connector. The dual lumen assembly includes a pair of tubes defining two fluid paths. The connector includes fluid paths which, when the cannula assembly is mounted to the syringe, place the fluid path of one of the tubes in fluid communication with one of the syringe body chambers and the fluid path of the other of the dual lumen tubes in fluid communication with the other of the syringe body chambers.

Cannula for a combined dental irrigator and vacuum device

A combined irrigator-vacuum device includes a pump assembly mountable over a syringe or device body. The device body has a dividing wall which divides the body into a clean chamber and a waste chamber. Openings are formed at the bottom of the body to provide an inlet into said waste chamber and an outlet from said clean chamber. The pump assembly includes a housing and a compressible cover defining a pump chamber. A vacuum valve and an irrigation valve are positioned within the pump chamber above the syringe waste chamber and clean chamber, respectively. The pump is operable such that compression of the cover causes irrigant fluid to be ejected from the clean chamber and release of the cover causes used irrigant to be vacuumed into the waste chamber. The device can be selectively switchable between an irrigation-vacuum mode, an irrigation-only mode and a vacuum-only mode.

Syringe for a combined dental irrigator and vacuum device

A contra-angled driver receives an endodontic activator to induce vibrations and/or oscillations in the activator at sonic frequencies. The driver includes a quick connect/disconnect to allow for quick and simple mounting and dismounting of the activator.

Vibrational driver for endodontic activators

Unitary, one-piece plastic molded micro-brushes are provided to remove the smear layer that remains in the root canal and access chamber after the pulp, bacteria, and related irritants have been mechanically and chemically removed from the root canal and access chamber using rotary cutting burs, files and various chemical reagents. The brushes include a handle, shaft or shank and a tapered brush section extending from the distal end of the shank. The brush section includes a plurality of bristles extending radially from a core. The bristles of the root canal brush can be formed in a reverse thread pattern. The brush section of the root canal brush has a diameter of between about 0.1 mm and about 0.2 mm at a tip end and a diameter of between about 0.5 mm and 3 mm at a coronal-most end. The brush section of the root canal brush is about 16 mm long, and has a taper of about 2% to about 12%. In the access chamber brush, the core can be formed as to be spherical, football-shaped, or tapered. The brushes are injection molded from an FDA approved resin.

Injection molded endodontic brush

Systems and methods related to ultrasonic microtube dental instruments designed to cut around a broken instrument by allowing the broken instrument to be placed within a lumen of the microtube instrument while simultaneously boring with the broken instrument and being guided by the broken instrument.

Ultrasonic microtube dental instruments and methods of using same

An instrument removal tool includes a hollow tube defining a lumen having a bottom end, a top end, and a cutout spaced from the bottom end; the hollow tube having an outer diameter sized to be received in the root canal, an inner diameter sized to admit an instrument into the lumen, and a wall width at the bottom of the tube sized to allow the bottom end of the hollow tube to pass over the top of the instrument such that at least the top of the instrument is received in the lumen of the tube, and an elongated shaft sized to be received in the hollow tube from the top end of the tube; the shaft having a length sufficient to extend beyond the cutout in the hollow tube, the shaft having a bottom end and a top end; the bottom end of said shaft being tapered and having a rounded end to urge a top end of the instrument into the cutout; the shaft and tube cooperating to grasp the instrument.

Instrument removal system

A micro-brush is provided to remove the smear layer that remains in the root canal after the pulp, bacteria, and related irritants have been mechanically and chemically removed from the root canal using files and sodium hypochlorite. The brush includes a shaft or shank and a tapered brush section extending from the distal end of the shank. The brush section includes a plurality of bristles extending radially from a central wire base. The bristles can be formed in a reverse thread pattern. The shank can be provided with a handle for manual use or the shank can be adapted to be received in a rotary, sonic, or ultrasonic handpiece to impart rotational or vibratory motion to the micro-brush. The brush section has a diameter of between about 0.2 mm and about 0.7 mm at a tip end and a diameter of between about 1 mm and 2 mm at a coronal-most end. The brush section is about 16 mm long, and thus has a taper of about 0.06 mm/mm and about 0.12 mm/mm.

Microbrush for endodontic use

Briefly stated, the present invention provides a kit which facilitates the removal of obstructions, such as broken files, from the root canal of a patient during an endodontic or root canal procedure. The kit includes a trephine sized to be inserted in the root canal and adapted to widen the root canal around the obstruction to expose the obstruction and an obstruction removal tool adapted to engage and mechanically grasp the obstruction to remove the obstruction from the root canal. The obstruction removal tool includes a hollow tube and a plunger slideable within the tube. The hollow tube is sized to be inserted into the root canal a distance sufficient to receive the obstruction within its lumen. A cutout is spaced from the end of the hollow tube, and the hollow tube is slid over the obstruction a distance sufficient to generally align the top of the obstruction with the cutout. A plunger having a beveled end is slid through the hollow tube. The beveled end of the plunger engages the obstruction and urges the obstruction into the cutout so that the tool will mechanically grasp the obstruction. Once the tool has mechanically grasped the obstruction, the tool with the obstruction can be removed from the root canal.

Root canal obstruction removal system

An ultrasonic dental tool for use with an ultrasonic transducer, comprises a substantially elongate tool defined by a shaft having a proximal end with a connector for attachment to an ultrasonic transducer, a distal end having a tip configured for performing a dental procedure, a portion of straight cylindrical wall from the tip inward toward the proximal end, and a contra-angle portion of substantially uniform diameter on the proximal end, and a uniform gradual tapered portion intermediate the distal end and the proximal end.

Ultrasonic dental tool

A dental tool apparatus for use in the removal of a dental post and other intercanal obstructions comprises a pliers having a first end for mounting a post connector and a second end for applying a force to the connector a substantially elongate post connector defined by a shaft having a proximal for attachment to a lever device, and a distal end having an open bore having a stepped diameter and self taping threads in the bore at the end for engaging and threading onto a dental post.

Dental post extractor apparatus

A radiopaque composition for use in visualizing and cleaning root canal system anatomy, pathologies, anomalies, and iatrogenic conditions. The composition comprises a radiopaque iodine solution and a sodium hypochlorite solution. The iodine solution comprises diatrizoate meglumine and sodium iodine. The iodine solution and sodium hypochlorite solution are mixed in a ratio of between 5:95 to 95:5, by volume. Preferably, the iodine solution and sodium hypochlorite solution are mixed in a ratio of between 30:70 to 70:30, by volume. And more preferably, the iodine solution and sodium hypochlorite solution are mixed in a ratio of between 45:55 to 55:45, by volume. In use, the root canal system anatomy, anomaly, pathology, or iatrogenic condition to be visualized and addressed or treated is liberally flushed with the composition, preferably after the root canal system has been exposed. The sodium hypochlorite in the composition will digest pulp in the canal system and destroy and remove any organisms and irritants residing in or on the anatomy, anomaly, or pathology. The iodine in the solution will enable a dentist to take a high contrast X-ray to visualize the anatomy, anomaly, pathology, or iatrogenic event in three-dimensions. The solution is particularly effective for visualizing root canal systems.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Barbara, CA, United States of America

Clifford J Ruddle