Lasers
Some investigators have reported that lasers can be used to vaporize tissues in the main canal, remove the smear layer and
eliminate the residual tissue in the apical portion of the root canals.7 Several investigators have reported that the efficacy of
lasers depends on many factors including the power level, the duration of exposure, the absorption of light in the tissue, the
geometry of the root canal and the tip-to-target distance.35-37 The efficacy of the lasers to completely clean the root canals
remains to be seen. The main difficulty continues to be access to small canal spaces with the relatively large probes that
deliver the laser beams and the expense of these units.
EndodoNtics: Colleagues for Excellence
Because current solutions and techniques cannot completely remove all irritants, dissolve all organic tissue or remove
the smear layer, various methods have been employed to deliver irrigants more efficiently to the working length.
These include sonic and ultrasonic vibrations as well as application of negative pressure to flush out the debris present
in instrumented canals.
