Locating canal openings

In several teeth requiring endodontic treatment, access cavity and locating the root canal openings is the most demanding part of the whole treatment.

1) Teeth with normal (unobliterated) pulp chamber: measuring from preoperative radiograph and investigating the pulp chamber floor with a probe. In teeth with several canals darker lines are often seen connecting the canal openings.

2) Teeth with obliterated pulp chamber and coronal canals: a) careful measuring from the preoperative radiograph, b) avoid furcal area, c) clean the dentine with a round bur, d) look for canal openings with good light and a sharp probe, e) use fiber optics as shown in the figures in the main window; obliterated canals show as darker points, f) go deeper at these points with a small round bur, go back to d) as many times as needed to come into the canal.

If the pulp chamber has previously been filled with a filling material, e.g., use of normal periodontal ultrasound allows a safe removal of these materials when only thin layers are left.