Ultrasonics in endodontic surgery: a review of the literature

Currently, although ultrasonics (US) is used in dentistry for therapeutic and diagnostic applications as well as for cleaning of instruments before sterilization, its main use is for scaling and root planing of teeth and in root canal therapy, both for orthograde and retrograde therapy. Both in conventional and surgical treatments, US in endodontics has enhanced quality of clinical procedures and represents an important adjunct in the treatment of difficult cases. More precisely it has become increasingly more useful in applications such as gaining access to canal openings, cleaning and shaping, obturation of root canals, removal of intracanal materials and obstructions, and endodontic surgery. This review of the literature aims at presenting the numerous advantages of US in surgical endodontics and emphasizes its application in a modern-day endodontic practice.