Impediment [im-ped-uh-muhnt]
obstruction; hindrance; obstacle.
Figure 1.
Apical
irregularity at
the terminus
of a relatively
straight canal.
Figure 4.
Apical
blockage.
Figure 2.
Irregularity on
the outside wall
of a curved
canal.
Figure 5.
Apical ledging.
Figure 3.
Abruptly
curved canal.
Figure 6.
Remnant of
instrument.
To better understand why this has occurred, ribboncurl a #10 K-file with cotton pliers along its full
length and then clamp the file with a hemostat about
4 mms back from the tip. Look at the tip portion
with magnification and you will see an essentially
straight instrument tip. And this is the part of the file
that is supposed to make its way around a canal path
that is radically more bent.
Another way to say it is that the file tip was not
bent acutely enough to keep the file tip centered as
it moved into the tightly breaking canal curvature.
When a file is curved 25 degrees along its whole
length, it will never make it around a canal curvature
that is 90 degrees along its last 1-2 mms.
Clever Technique
Mentally imaging the canals you are treating,
coupled with the use of appropriately curved files
just needs a bit of clever technique to conquer the
apical impediment. The first clever technique trick
is to pre-bend the last 1-2 mms of the file with an
EndoBender (SybronEndo) (Figure 11), look down
the length of the file, and carefully adjust the indicator
on the stop (notch, line, or point) to be in line with
the bend of the file.
Now, as you scritch-scratch into the canal, hunting for
the path of least resistance, you feel and see the file
passively drop deeper into the canal as you advanced
in a new direction. Now, after you have successfully
snaked the file around this one-of-a-kind, difficult
anatomy, the next question is How will I get back
here with my next instrument?
All you have to do is to look at the indicator on the
stop, note the direction and after bending the next file
and aligning the stop to the bend, you simply move
the file to length with its bent tip pointing in the same
direction as the previous fie to length.
Final Impedimento Negotiating Advice
Remember that there is little forgiveness in a tightly
curved canal, so for goodness sake, do anything
to avoid blocking the end of the canal. Most
often, compacted blockage at a canal curvature
will never allow re-entry along the original canal