ProTaper Gold

I was first introduced to ProTaper almost 20 years ago by Dr. John West. The concept of progressive taper immediately grabbed my interest. Initially enlarging the coronal portion of the canal allowed for better straight-line access as well as creating more space for the irrigant to start the process of disinfection and lubrication. Gradually preparing in a modified crown down fashion placed less torque on the files and more efficiently removed debris without packing it in apical direction. At that time it was a major breakthrough in root canal preparation. Then came ProTaper Gold; the same instrument design, but a new metallurgy giving Martensitic properties to the file. This technology greatly increases the resistance to cyclic fatigue, the malleability of the file makes it easy to fit into areas of limited access and allows it to glide around severe canal curvatures. These instruments are strong and efficient. I highly recommend these to our residents and referring GP’s who provide endodontic care to their patients. Bottom line here is that separated files, for the most part, are a thing of the past in our practice. The stress factor has been greatly reduced when treating difficult cases."

In my residency years ago, I tried many different file systems and found that I really liked Brasseler's EndoSequence files. I used those for many years, but I was beginning to dislike the rigidity of them. As for most people, I do not always welcome change, so I have to be highly motivated to try something new. As the more recent advancements in metallurgy developed, I started to experiment with several other types of file systems. My requirements to change file systems were that they had to have good research backing them, they had to feel fluid and comfortable in my hands, and they had to be equivalent in cost to my existing file system. The first extracted tooth that I worked on with the ProTaper Gold system, I knew it felt right. The flexibility of the files was amazing and I loved that I could pre-bend files to get them into tight corners. As I completed more and more cases with them, I was sold! The smaller files seamlessly cut the coronal dentin, and the larger files complete a very nice shape that allows my irrigant to extend to the apical extent of the canals. I am not an easy one to get to switch up my routine, but now that I use ProTaper Gold, I'm never going back to my old technique."