Tulsa Dental Products Inc.

D&s Dental, LLC

Other

Dentsply Sirona Inc.

Dentsply International Inc.

Quality Dental Products, Inc.

Heath, Derek E.

Derek E Heath

Jerry A Mooneyhan

Steve A Treadway

Steven J A Treadway

Jerry Arpaio, Jr

Bobby J Bennett

Carl J Berendt

Van T Himel

Jerry Apairo, Jr

Brian J Little

Carl Joseph Berendt

Medical instruments, particularly, endodontic instruments with unique limited memory characteristics, and methods for making such instruments. One embodiment includes heat treating an endodontic blank prior to forming a working portion of the endodontic instrument.

Medical instrument with modified memory and flexibility properties and method

Methods for modifying a physical characteristic of finished endodontic instruments made from one or more superelastic alloys is described which include heat treating one or more finished endodontic instruments in a salt bath for a specific time (e.g., from about four hours to about six hours), at a specified temperature (e.g., from about 475&#xb0; C. to about 550&#xb0; C.), and preferably at a specified pH range.

Method of modifying a physical property of an endodontic instrument

An endodontic instrument includes a plurality of flutes and a plurality of lands extending helically around a working portion. Each flute includes a curved concave flute surface, a pair of flute shoulders at the peripheral edges of the flute surface, a flute width defined by a distance between the flute shoulders, and a flute depth defined by a point of maximum depth between the flute shoulders. Each land is positioned between a pair of axially adjacent flutes and includes a curved concave land surface, a pair of land shoulders at the peripheral edges of the land surface, a land width defined by a distance between the land shoulders, and a land depth defined by a point of maximum depth between the land shoulders. The land width is less than the flute width and the land depth is less than the flute depth in the upper region of the working portion.

Endodontic instrument

Medical instruments, particularly, endodontic instruments with unique limited memory characteristics, and methods for making such instruments. One embodiment includes heat treating a finished endodontic instrument. A related embodiment includes electropolishing a finished endodontic instrument and then heat treating the endodontic instrument.

A machining apparatus and method for fabricating endodontic instruments adapted for use in performing root canal procedures is disclosed. The machining apparatus includes computer numerical control (CNC) machining that automates much of the fabrication process. The disclosed machining apparatus and method is programmable to efficiently produce varying configurations of endodontic instruments on the same machining apparatus.

Machining apparatus and method of making endodontic instruments

A set of endodontic instrument adapted to remove material from walls of a root canal having a working portion with a relatively short working length. A substantially untapered nonworking portion of the instrument shaft with substantially parallel sidewalls and a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the proximal end of the working portion extends from adjacent a proximal end of the working portion to the proximal end of the shaft. The working portions of the set of instruments have relatively small, slowly progressing taper rates.

Set of endodontic instruments

An endodontic instrument with an elongate shaft and a plurality of inverted frusto-conical sections with radial cutting edge disposed along a working portion of the shaft.

Endodontic instrument and method

A method and instrument for removing material from an internal portion of a tooth wherein the tool used to remove the material includes an elongate shaft extending from a first end to a second end; a cutting surface extending along a working portion of the elongate shaft; a handle attached to the first end of the elongate shaft, the handle including a first end and a second end; a projection attached to the elongate shaft and extending around a portion of the perimeter of the shaft substantially adjacent to the first end of the handle, wherein the projection provides a barrier to prevent a user's fingers from moving beyond the handle directly onto the elongate shaft.

Endodontic apparatus and method

An endodontic instrument adapted for use in performing root canal therapy. The instrument includes a holder with a grip sized to be gripped by a hand of a user. An arm extends from the grip and has a length sufficient to permit a free end portion to reach into a patient's mouth while the grip remains outside the mouth. An elongate rod with a working portion having cutting portions thereon extends along the length of the arm of the holder such that a proximal end of the rod is adjacent the grip of the holder and the distal end of the rod with the working portion thereon extends from the free end portion of the arm, such that the working portion may be used to treat a root canal in a patient's mouth by a dentist manipulating the holder outside the mouth of the patient.

Endodontic instrument for performing root canal therapy

Collapsible plant stand

A cutting board for food products which is composed of a plurality of abrasive conical inserts arranged in parallel rows on a support so that a knife blade may be drawn along the channel formed between adjacent rows to sharpen the knife blade on both sides by contact with the inserts. The inserts are separately fabricated and mounted in tapered openings formed through the support.

Cutting board for food products and method of fabricating same

A method of fabricating an endodontic instrument by a machining operation is disclosed, and wherein a wire-like rod composed of a titanium alloy is advanced past a rotating grinding wheel at a relatively slow feed rate, with a sufficient depth of cut to remove all of the material on a given surface without over grinding a previously ground surface, and with the grinding wheel rotating at a relatively slow surface speed. The disclosed method is able to efficiently produce endodontic instruments having a high degree of flexibility, high resistance to torsional breakage, and with sharp cutting edges along the working length.

Growing community of inventors

Johnson City, TN, United States of America

Derek E Heath