Adverse Outcomes

Adverse Outcomes: We present here a case where the patient presented with a broken instrument within one of the canals. This is always a cause for concern for patients who are worried of infection and systemic effects. We must first recognize that bacteria causes infection, not foreign materials. The broken instrument only serves as a physical obstruction towards proper cleaning of the tooth. Here, we were able to identify with CBCT that the canal with the broken instrument shares a common exit with other canal which does not have a broken instrument. In this case, we were able to bypass the broken instrument and clean the canals sufficiently. Therefore removal of the instrument, although desirable, is NOT necessary in such a case. We must weigh the risk:benefit ratio of potential irreversible tooth damage that would be necessary to remove the instrument versus incorporating it into the final root filling.