The Use of a Chelating Agent and Ultrasonic Tips in the Retrieval of Broken Rotary Ni-Ti

speaker in endodontics, collaborates in several undergoing research endodontic studies, and has a private practice limited to endodontics. The purpose of this article is to correlate the importance of irrigating with chelating agents (and their chemical reaction in eliminating the debris from between the flutes of separated nickel titanium files), with the ability to retrieve and/or bypass instruments separated within the root canal system. Several methods and techniques have been advocated over the years for the removal of solid objects such as silver points and fragments of endodontic instruments that have been separated. If the coronal aspect of the fragment to be removed is accessible, it has the ability to be withdrawn from the canal by a variety of instrument systems. Examples of such systems include but are not limited to the Masseran ™ Endodontic Kit (Micro-Mega, Lynnewood, Washington),1 the Cancellier Instrument Removal System ™ (SybronEndo, Orange, CA) and the Ruddle IRS ™ (Dentsply, Tulsa, OK). Recently, the use of piezoelectric ultrasonic units with their numerous compatible tips have facililated the incremental removal of dentin surrounding separated instruments as well as their vibratory removal.2 The use of a chelating agent will b