Clinical blunders, mishaps, and picking the right kind of irrigant when doing root canal therapy

This article first appeared in the newsletter, DE's Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS. Subscribe here.Imagine sitting in a lecture titled, “The 10 biggest mistakes I’ve made clinically since graduating from dental school.” I’ll submit that you would probably be intrigued because in the back of your mind, you’re starting to mull over all the blunders you’ve had since getting the title of doctor. And yes, it’s kind of embarrassing to own up to and admit those things ever happened. This month I write about some of my blunders, mishaps, and hand-to-forehead moments of things that I’ve just had to learn along the way, the hard way. If I call these my “on-the-job expensive educational moments,” it makes me feel better. Just don’t laugh too hard.

What is in your arsenal of irrigants when you do root canals? Is one irrigant better than another? Endodontist Barry Musikant breaks it down and goes over what works best and why. There is even a new product on the market that you may want to consider using.

The pathology case for this month is something that’s commonly observed with many differentials. Take a look at this lesion and see what you come up with.

The end of the year is around the corner—hard to believe. Next month we’ll give you Breakthrough Clinical’s top articles for the year.

Happy Thanksgiving and Cheers!

Stacey L. Simmons, DDS, is in private practice in Hamilton, Montana. She is a graduate of Marquette University School of Dentistry. Dr. Simmons is a guest lecturer at the University of Montana in the Anatomy and Physiology Department. She is the editorial director of PennWell’s clinical dental specialties newsletter, DE’s Breakthrough Clinical with Stacey Simmons, DDS, and a contributing author for DentistryIQ, Perio-Implant Advisory, and Dental Economics. Dr. Simmons can be reached at [email protected].

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