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I 03 editorial _ roots I roots1_2010 Dr Chris J. Lampert Guest Editor _The success of modern endodontic treatment can largely be attributed to the work of Dr Herbert Schilder. This is not because he pioneered 3-D obturation with warm gutta-percha, not because he defined the first mechanical and biological objectives for shaping and cleaning a root-canal system, not because he stood by his principles in the face of criticism, but because he raised the bar for endodontic success to a new level. Numerous gifted educators and clini- cianshavefollowedandfurtheredDrSchilder’sprinciplesandtechniques.Infact,inthisedition of roots, two contributing authors were trained by Dr Schilder. Historically, endodontic treatment has been considered the last option for saving a tooth prior to extraction. The option of endodontic treatment was compared to that of not having a tooth, which was an easy decision to make. Presently, dental implants are the comparative treatment against which endodontic success is measured. Many believe, and I agree, that this comparison has also raised the bar for endodontic treatment success to a new level. Raisingthelevelofendodontictreatmentbeginswithknowingwhentotreatacompromised case and when not to treat a hopeless case. Correctly determining this improves the success of endodontic treatment. Utilising technology such as cone-beam imaging gives clinicians diag- nostic information about the aetiology of endodontic pathology that is critical to determining whetheracasecanbetreatedendodontically.Treatingcomplicatedcaseswithadvancedmicro- surgicalendodontictreatmentisalsorequiredtoimprovethesuccessofendodontictreatment. It is essential that current and future generations of endodontic clinicians continue to practise and improve micro-surgical endodontic treatment. Iamhonouredtocontributetothiseditionofroots.Asyouwillseeinthefollowingarticles, roots has become a premier international endodontic publication. It offers a forum for renownedcliniciansandeducatorstosharetheirknowledgeandexpertisewithcolleaguesinall fields of dentistry. I hope you will enjoy this issue of rootsas much as I did. Sincerely yours, Dr Chris J. Lampert Guest Editor Endodontist Portland, Oregon, USA Dear Reader,