Two important objectives to be kept in mind during the instrumentation of a root canal are the development of a continuously tapered form and the maintenance of the original shape and position of the apical foramen. However, the presence of curvatures may pose difficulty in root canal instrumentation. The final results of the instrumentation of curved root canals may be influenced by several factors such as the flexibility and diameter of the endodontic instruments, instrumentation techniques, location of the foraminal opening, and the hardness of dentin. [1] Ledge formation, blockages, perforations and apical transportation are undesirable accidents that have been observed to occur after the preparation of curved root canals. [2],[3],[4] Therefore, several instrumentation techniques have been introduced to deal with the complex problems of preparing curved root canals. Traditionally in these situations, various hand files were employed in different instrumentation techniques. But in the modern era of endodontics, the role of these conventional hand files has been limited to only being scouting files. Expensive rotary Ni-Ti file systems have taken over the endodontic arena from conventional hand-held files.
Apart form the cost of rotary instruments, there are other deterrent factors like inexperience with rotary instruments and improper handling that prevent a general dentist from using them. In such situations, hand instruments can come to the rescue, but it should be borne in mind that routine canal preparation techniques may not give successful results in variously curved root canals. This article will try to revive the role of hand files in successfully completing instrumentation in various cases with curvatures ranging from a simple curvature in the apical third to maximum curvature encountered in the whole canal system.
.
