Endodontic instrument
AssigneeTulsa Dental Products, L.L.C.
InventorsDerek E. Heath, Jerry A. Mooneyhan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of fabricating an endodontic instrument by a machining operation is disclosed, and wherein a wire-like rod composed of a titanium alloy is advanced past a rotating grinding wheel at a relatively slow feed rate, with a sufficient depth of cut to remove all of the material on a given surface without over grinding a previously ground surface, and with the grinding wheel rotating at a relatively slow surface speed. The disclosed method is able to efficiently produce endodontic instruments having a high degree of flexibility, high resistance to torsional breakage, and with sharp cutting edges along the working length.
Claims12
An endodontic instrument adapted for use in performing root canal therapy on a tooth, and comprising
- an elongate shank having a proximate end and an opposite pilot end, and so as to define a working length adjacent said pilot end, and
- at least one continuous helical flute formed so as to extend along the length of said working length, with each of said flutes defining a cutting edge along each side edge thereof, with the cutting edges being characterized as being sharp and free of deformed metal deposits, and wherein said instrument is fabricated by a process which includes the steps of
- (a) providing a cylindrical rod of metallic material which is composed of at least about 40% titanium and which has a diameter not greater than about 0.07 inches, and
- (b) axially moving the rod past a rotating grinding wheel at a feed rate of between about 3 and 8 inches per minute, while rotating the rod about its axis, and so that the wheel removes at least about 25% of the diameter of the rod at the point of maximum removal and forms a helical surface on the rod, and while rotating the grinding wheel at a relatively slow surface speed of not more than about 3000 feet per minute, and wherein the rotating grinding wheel has a relatively fine grit size which is greater than about 200 grit, a so as to result in the formation of said cutting edges.
An endodontic instrument adapted for use in performing root canal therapy on a tooth, and comprising
- an elongate shank having a proximate end and an opposite pilot end, and so as to define a working length adjacent said pilot end, said shank being composed of an alloy comprising at least about 40% titanium, and
- at least one continuous helical flute formed so as to extend along the length of said working length, with each of said flutes defining a cutting edge along each side edge thereof, with the cutting edges being characterized as being sharp and free of deformed metal deposits, and wherein said instrument is fabricated by a process which includes the steps of providing a cylindrical rod of a metallic material which comprises said alloy, and axially moving the rod past a rotating grinding wheel so as to result in the formation of said cutting edges.
An endodontic instrument adapted for use in performing root canal therapy on a tooth, and comprising
- an elongate shank having a proximate end and an opposite pilot end, and so as to define a working length adjacent said pilot end, said shank being composed of an alloy comprising at least about 40% titanium and at least about 50% nickel, and
- at least one continuous helical flute formed so as to extend along the length of said working length, with each of said flutes defining a curved concave wall when viewed in transverse cross section, a cutting edge along each side edge of said curved concave wall with the cutting edges being characterized as being sharp and free of deformed metal deposits, and a helical land positioned between axially adjacent flute segments, and wherein said instrument is fabricated by a process which includes the steps of providing a cylindrical rod of a metallic material which comprises said alloy, and axially moving the rod past a rotating grinding wheel so as to result in the formation of said cutting edges.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.