Use of dynamic navigation for a minimal invasive finding of root canals: a technical note

Abstract

Aim: the aim of this technical note was to evaluate the potential application of dynamic navigation for a minimally invasive finding of the root canal.  Methodology: extracted human teeth were fixed into a prefabricated phantom model in place of the correspondent teeth and pre-operatively scanned with the marker plate containing the fiducial markers with a cone beam computed tomography, imported on the ImplaNav software (ImplaNav, BresMedical, Sydney, Australia) and  obtaining a 3D reconstruction. Open access cavity was performed with a diamond bur in using real-time navigation. This procedure was aimed to directly identify the pulp horns and the root canal entrances with a unique hole for each canal. Results: all access cavities were prepared according to a minimally invasive endodontics approach with the dynamically guided ImplaNav software. No perforations occurred and all the canals were successfully located.  Conclusions: our results demonstrated a possible application of this technology in minimal finding of root canals. This protocol may have potentialities in teaching dental students to start their approach in endodontic field.