Injection molded endodontic brush

A one-piece, integrally formed brush for use in cleaning a root canal access cavity during an endodontic procedure on a living patient after the root canal and cavity have been shaped but before obtu ration;

• the brush having a handle and a tapered brush section;
• the brush section including a central core operatively connected to the handle and a plurality of bristles radiating from the central core, said bristles extending to an apical end of said core and covering the apical end of said core;
• said handle and core being integrally formed together from a resin as a one-piece part;
• said brush having an overall diameter, at a distal end of about 0.2 mm, such that the distal end of the brush is sized to enable the brush to reach the apical ends of root canals.

A one-piece, integrally formed endodontic instrument for use in cleaning a root canal during an endodontic procedure on a living patient after the root canal has been shaped but before obtu ration of the root canal system;

• the instrument comprising a handle, a tapered core, and a plurality of bristles extending from a lower section of said core to define a brush portion of said instrument;
• said bristles being sufficiently stiff so that they will have good rubbing action against a root canal wall to remove a smear layer from the root canal wall, sufficiently pliable so that the bristles can bend and flex to reach the normal irregularities in the root canal wall, and sufficiently soft so that the use of the brush portion will not form gouges or ledges in the root canal wall;
• said handle being adapted to be connected to a dental handpiece or hand-held by a practitioner for inserting the instrument core through an access cavity preparation in the tooth, through an orifice at the start of the root canal, and into the root canal;
• said core being molded from a resin;
• said bristles having a length, such that at the distal end of said brush portion, said brush portion has an overall diameter at its distal end of about 0.2 mm, whereby said endodontic instrument is sized to enable the brush portion to reach the apical ends of root canals.