Management of Instrument Separation: A Case Series

Abstract

Ab s t r Ac t Background: During routine endodontic therapy, a clinician may encounter many procedural errors which alter the course and outcome of treatment. One of the most frequent types of procedural error is instrument separation. A separated instrument prevents complete cleaning and shaping of the root canal. Hence, every attempt must be made to retrieve the broken instrument. The clinician has to evaluate the options of attempting retrieval, and bypassing or leaving the fragment as it is. There are various instrument retrieval kits and chairside techniques available for this purpose. Case description: The present case series describes the management of a separated rotary file and a separated bur head from the root canals of mandibular second molar and maxillary canine, respectively. A 14-year-old female patient undergoing root canal treatment in relation to 47 had an accidental breakage of ProTaper gold F2 rotary file in the apical third of distal canal of 47. Attempts were made to retrieve the instrument with ultrasonically activated files under dental operating microscope and was successfully managed. A 47-year-old female patient undergoing root canal treatment in relation to 13 had an accidental blockage of the canal with 169L carbide bur in the apical third of canal. The fractured fragment was retrieved with file braiding technique. Conclusion: This case series has described conservative and simple techniques for removal of fractured instruments from the root canals of an anterior and posterior tooth.