ROEN0210

46 I I meetings _ AAE 2010 Following the fill of the MB2 canal, Dr Buchanan brought in one of his newest ultrasonic tip designs, which he referred to as an Isthmus Hatchet (IH; Spartan). Three millimetres in length and 0.4 mm wide, with acute angles on each end, the IH literally droppeddownintotherootthroughthecentreofthe isthmus, resulting in a very smooth, straight-walled retro-preparation. The apical retro-seal was done with grey ProRoot MTA(DENTSPLYTulsa)becauseDrBuchananlikesthe handling characteristics more than the white MTA used in aesthetic areas. The MTA was delivered with Tulsa’s MTA tube car- rier/condenserin5to6aliquots,andcondensedusing a hatchet plugger (HP) made to fit the preparation made using the IH. A conventional digital radiograph confirmed a dense retro-fill, and the minimally inva- siveflapwassuturedwithfour5-0Supramidsutures. ACTscanwasdonethenwithaVeraviewepocs3D cone-beam CT machine (J. Morita), showing the final result with the MB2 canal and the apical preparation densely and completely filled. When attendees were asked their opinion of the demonstrationandthenewGESprocedure,themost consistent response was firstly that Buchanan demonstrated much courage doing an experimental procedure in front of his peers, and secondly that although it is not there yet, the potential benefits of GES are many. WhatisupnextforBuchananandtheengineering teamatMaterialise?Thenextsixmonthstoayearwill be spent on treatment planning and performing the hundreds of procedures needed to bring this pro- cedure successfully into the mainstream of clinical endodontics,aswellasestablishinguniversity-based research projects to bring GES into peer-reviewed literature. At this point, Dr Buchanan says: “The iterative design process will take this from a fascinating but slowwaytodoendodonticsurgery,toanelegantpro- cedure that is much faster, much more precise, and that requires less training than traditional methods.” The American Association of Endodontists wel- comed about 4,000 people to its annual meeting in sunny San Diego. The focus of the meeting, which was expanded to four full days this year, was Acess toApex,EducationandCare, and offered endodontic specialists 232 CE hours in 120 courses. In addition to the vast learning and educational opportunities, dozensofexhibitorsshowcasedthenewestandmost innovative endodontic products on the market. Next year’smeetingwillbeheldinSanAntonio,Texas,from 13–16 April 2011. For more information, see the AAE Website at www.aae.org._ _Reference Pinsky H, Champleboux G, Sarment D. Periapical surgery using CAD/CAM guidance: Preclinical results. Journal of Endodontics, 33/2 (2007),148–151. Figs. 1 & 2_Treatment planning using SimPlant software from Materialise to perfectly position the drill guide over the root end. Fig. 3_Post-operative X-ray showing a very accurate circular osteotomy and apicesection from the drill guides as well as a very dense MTA retro-fill in the trough preparation between the MB1 and MB2 canals. roots2_2010 Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Fig. 2