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38 I I opinion _ marketing factthattheirabilitytoremovemixed-speciesbiofilm remains unproven. The great virtue of mathematics is that its truths alone are certain and inevitable; in any universe, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. And yet, the pundits of the new wave in endo- donticswouldhaveusbelievethatsinglefilesregard- less of their envelope of motion, be it reciprocating, rotary or piston-like, can effectively debride the neg- ativespaceoftheroot-canalsystemindefianceofthe morphometrics and myriad complexities of the inner worldofteeth.Similarly,insubordinatetothescience of rheology, carrier-based obturation is deemed equivalent to the force generation and resultant gravitometrics of injection-moulded, warm thermo- labile techniques as described initially by Blaney and made mainstream by Schilder. And yet, we have a new wave of carrier-based obturation devices that, in concert with simplified instrumentation protocols, are being marketed by their developers in the context that, “I have read this argument about making root-canal treatment sim- ple. Many colleagues struggle with the complexities of root-canal treatments and I do not see why we can’tmakeitsimpler.Anycompetentdentisthasgood manualskills.Ifwecansimplifythetreatmentproce- dure for the general dentists and thereby improve theirskillsincompletingmoreroot-canaltreatments toahigherstandard,ourpatientswillsurelybenefit.”9 For those who would suggest that this article is self-serving, I would suggest that you simply replace the discipline cited with any other. Perhaps we have reached the point that we no longer wish to advance and support the art and science of ________ (fill in the blanks) with definitive research that will refute the nattering nabobs of nihilism on the other side of that proverbial line in the sand. It is time for dentists to acknowledge the gravity of the problem where in- dustry is the driver and the profession the passenger. Weneedleadershiptoregeneratethescienceofden- tistry before the artistry truly becomes pre-planned andpre-programmedbythoseoutsidetheprofession whose vested interests lie in profit and loss state- ments, and not in the eradication of oral disease._ Editorial note: A complete list of references is available from thepublisher.Tocommentonthisarticle,pleasecontactthe ManagingEditoratc.salwiczek@oemus-media.de Fig. 2_Micro-CT images of a molar tooth. (Images courtesy of the Root Canal Anatomy Project; http:// rootcanalanatomy.blogspot.com/). roots2_2011 Dr Kenneth S.Serota graduated from the University ofToronto in 1973 and was awarded the GeorgeW.Switzer Memorial Key for Excellence in Prosthodontics.He received his Certificate in Endodontics and Master of Medical Sciences degree from the Harvard-Forsyth Dental Center in Boston. A recipient of theAmericanAssociation of Endodontics Memorial ResearchAward for his work in nuclear medicine screening procedures related to dental pathology,his passion is education,and most recently e-learning,and rich media.Dr Serota provided an interactive endodontic programme for the Ontario DentalAssociation from 1983 to 1997 and was awarded the ODAAward of Merit for his efforts in the provision of continuing education. Theauthorofmorethan60publications,DrSerotaisontheeditorialboardofEndodonticPractice,EndoTribune andImplantTribune.HefoundedROOTS,anonlineeducationalforumfordentistsfromaroundtheworldwho wishtolearncutting-edgeendodontictherapy,andrecentlylaunchedIMPLANTS(www.rximplants.com)and www.tdsonline.orginordertoprovidedentistswithaclearunderstandingoftheendodontic–implantalgorithm infoundationaldentistry. _about the author roots Fig. 2