If you want your patients to enjoy long-term satisfaction after endodontic treatments, one of your top priorities should be creating a high-quality coronal restoration. This isn’t just hearsay, numerous studies indicate the benefits of a well-made crown, one such study was held by Brian M Gillen1, which held that root canal treatments have a 2.8 times greater chance for success when they have an adequate coronal seal. Another study by Ray and Trope2, supported a strong link between marginal integrity of the coronal restoration and the absence of apical periodontitis, and further studies3 referenced below help to confirm these findings. Endodontics is always going to be a challenging field, and ensuring a great result for every patient can be difficult. To help you best give the best outcomes to your patients in endodontics, Dentsply Sirona have a solution.
A Total Care System - From Root to Crown
With the intent of helping you to create consistent quality coronal restorations, Dentsply Sirona have created a range of products, tools, and equipment for each step of the process. From diagnosis, shaping, obturation and more. Today, we’re going to talk you through each of these products, some of their indications for use in various endodontic procedures, how it works with other items in the product range, and how they may help you create consistent, quality coronal restorations.
Diagnosis & Access: X-Smart Apex Locator / X-Smart Pro+ Motor with integrated Apex Locator 
The X-Smart® Apex Locator is an endodontic motor we’ve written about before in our product spotlight on endo motors. An accurate and powerful endo motor with reciprocating motion, accurate speed control, an integrated apex locator, and ‘Dynamic Accuracy™ technology’ which helps you to with direct length determination while actively shaping.
One thing we particularly like about this endodontic motor is its patented brushless DC motor control, which responds to torque automatically to help provide optimal file performance.
Shaping: WaveOne Gold/ ProTaper® Ultimate/ ProTaper® Gold
The ProTaper® Ultimate is the file system you need for shaping. Now, I know that sounds hyperbolic, you can do shape a root canal just fine with other file systems, however, the convenience of using the ProTaper® Ultimate simply makes it stand head and shoulders above its contemporaries. For example, the ProTaper® Ultimate can be used to start the glide path in the majority of cases, it demonstrated strong cutting efficiency for shaping and hauling debris in the coronal two-thirds. Finally, this file is also great for finishing, as its flexibility in the apical third, helps you to navigate challenging anatomies, without breaking or unwinding.
If you’re curious about rotary ProTaper® ranges, you also might want to consider the ProTaper® Gold.
Used in the removal of dentin and the shaping of the root canal, the ProTaper® Gold range improves the prior designs and composition of older ProTaper® ranges with advanced metallurgy. These striking gold files are built to resist cyclical fatigue, and their increased flexibility (24% improved flexibility compared to ProTaper® Universal) helps them to resist breakage. The complete system approach of these files encourages high levels of precision in the preparation and shaping of the dental canal.
Finally, the WaveOne® file (pictured above) is another file system from Dentsply Sirona, it shares a lot of similarities to the ProTaper® Gold range, but these files are reciprocating, rather than rotary.
Obturation: Conform Fit Gutta Percha/ Gutta-Smart/ Gutta Core
These gutta percha files have been made with sizes which correspond to the size of the canals prepared with ProTaper® Next files, ProTaper® Ultimate and WaveOne® Gold. This precision removes guesswork from the process and helps to secure a better coronal restoration. These gutta percha tips have an improved heat transfer, with only 4mm sitting between the heat source and its tip. These features help to encourage better filling of the apex and lateral canals, and decrease the risk of root fracture. Single insertion simplicity is more effective than lateral condensation. Less technique-sensitive than warm vertical compaction procedures.
Coronal Seal: AH Plus Jet 
With excellent biocompatibility, low solubility, and minimal shrinkage, the AH Plus Jet® sealer delivers added efficiency and precision. This preloaded sealer works as a viable solution to post-operative problems such as sensitivity and peri-apical inflammation. Unlike other sealants, it resists breakdown or shrinkage over time, helping to reduce gapping between the sealer and canal wall. Finally, if you should need to remove this sealer, the AH Plus Jet® Sealer’s thermoplastic properties make the task easier, whether using chemicals or a drill.
This sealer has been in use for over thirty years, and has been used in practice around the world to attain excellent treatment outcomes.
A universal adhesive which promises to deliver a gap-free bond with little-to-no post-operative sensitivity on over-wet or over-dried dentin. Similarly to the WaveOne® Gold files, and several other Denstply Sirona products, the Prime&Bond Active® adhesive prioritises consistent performance and predictable outcomes, taking the guesswork out of the endodontic process.
This adhesive actively spreads across prepared surfaces, so as to minimise the risk of unbonded dry spots, which can encourage leakage or post-operative sensitivity. The thickness of the film which spreads is low, which reduces the challenges posed by bonding film changing the preparation geometry or compromising crown fit.
The container for this adhesive can be opened with one hand and dispensed using a precision tip, with a 30-minute working time in a closed CliXdish™.
Bulkfil: SDR flow+ 
Used in more than 50 million applications worldwide, this is a bulk-fill material with excellent adaptation and self-levelling because of stress-decreasing SDR® technology. This technology allows for 4mm bulk placement with ideal flowable consistency and handling in the creation of reliable Class I and II restorations. Additionally, the handling properties of SDR® flow+ make it ideal for several other indications, such as the treatment of primary posterior dentition, pit & fissure sealant, post-endodontic restorations and core build-up.
Irrigation and Curing, the Smartlite® Pro EndoActivator 
Known for providing a high quality of cure, as well as having a modular design which can be adjusted and changed for a variety of clinical applications. Its interchangeable tip can be used to hold a diagnostic transillumination tip for finding caries, fractures and root canals.
The Smartlite® Pro EndoActivator™ attachment is crafted to provide irrigation, disinfection and activation, the Smartlite® Pro EndoActivator is a fast and stylish piece of equipment which is designed to work especially well in canals shaped by the ProTaper® Ultimate, WaveOne® Gold and TruNatomy®ranges.
The Smartlite® Pro EndoActivator uses elliptical motion and an increased output for effective irrigant activation. Finally, as a nice additional bonus its multifunctional charging base is also compatible with the Smartlite® Pro curing tip.
Additionally, the all-metal casing of the Smartlite® helps to ensure that this tool is built to last and withstand regular intense uses and sterilisation cycles.
Footnotes -
1 - Gillen BM, Looney SW, Gu LS, Loushine BA, Weller RN, Loushine RJ, Pashley DH, Tay FR. Impact of the quality of coronal restoration versus the quality of root canal fillings on success of root canal treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Endod. 2011
2 - Ray HA, Trope M. Periapical status of endodontically treated teeth in relation to the technical quality of the root filling and the coronal restoration. Int Endod J. 1995
3 - Salehrabi R, Rotstein I. Endodontic treatment outcomes in a large patient population in the USA: an epidemiological study. J Endod. 2004,
Gillen BM, Looney SW, Gu LS, Loushine BA, Weller RN, Loushine RJ, Pashley DH, Tay FR. Impact of the quality of coronal restoration versus the quality of root canal fillings on success of root canal treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Endod. 2011
