From the Docs

Detailed case studies.

Switched to Edge Endo! I’m a Believer! WaveOne® and Edge Comparison

Dr. John Ha

General Dentist, Honolulu Smile Design

The following article is republished with permission from Dr. John Ha. We have reformatted the images slightly for easy reading, and product trademarks have been added.

Introduction

I’m always trying to find ways to improve my technique and at the beginning of the year, I started to use the Wave One® (W1) files that made my endo much more efficient. It was a simple and the files cut great and fast. The taper was a little aggressive but the one file system has worked for me. Guttacore® (GC) has also been great.

My new associate gig does not use any rotary endo. Thus all materials that I use, I buy myself. Sucks but I can’t go back to hand filing (so 1980’s!!). You can imagine that the W1 and GC prices can add up on an associate’s pay.

I recently did a trial order with Edge to see what all the fuss was about. I’m glad I did. Below is just a quick comparison and a few cases that I’ve finished up using the Edge files and Edge-Core.

The W1 equivalent is the X1 file and that is what I ordered. I am using the Promark endo motor and Guttacore oven.

The W1 files actually have a plastic portion that expands upon autoclaving and prevents you from re-inserting it into your handpiece. The Edge file does not. Everyone has their own philosophies when it comes to re-using rotaries. For me, all files are used once then trashed.

Forgive the sensor change from the first two cases to the last two. The good sensor broke and the back up isn’t as great.

EdgeFile®

The file packaging. The files come in packs of three. They do not do assortment packs. You will have to purchase the various sizes you plan to use.
The Edge files have a very interesting metallurgy and are dark in color unlike any file that I’ve used before (endosequence and W1).
The Edge file can be bent with light pressure. But don’t mistake the flexibility with fragility. I used an Edge on an extracted premolar and did stupid movements and it didn’t break.
The metallurgy allows for flexibility once bent. However, it is not like bending stainless steel handfiles. This feature is nice for getting into those hard to reach canal orifices. I would imagine it’d be good for ninja accesses.

WaveOne®

This is the W1 file. The nice thing about it is that the pre-measured increments can be seen pretty easily. The Edge files also have these measurements as well but is harder to see.
As you can see, the W1 file has quite a bit of memory. They are very stiff compared to the Edge files.

Obturators

Red obturator is the Edge-Core and green is Guttacore. I haven’t noticed a difference except when it comes to clean up. The Edge-core is slightly more difficult to clean up but stating that is really nit-picking. Both work great.

One note: if you’re going to use the X1 edge files, order the X7 edgecore obturators. The X1 Obturators have a .08 taper to be used with the W1 files. They will not seat completely if you’re using the X1 edge files.

EdgeFile® Cases

Straight forward case. Single canal premolar. Really nice guy but couldn’t open wide for the life of him. Most of the appointment was filled with telling him to keep open since he couldn’t tolerate the bite block.
No surprises
Irreversible pulpitis on 2 canal premolar. Nothing that was significant about this one either.
Also no surprises with obturation.
Really nice guy that was referred to me by a colleague of mine that doesn’t do RCT’s. 4 Canals found and shaped.
Recurrent decay on the distal leading to irreversible pulpitis. Four canals found. MB2 was a bugger to find even though she was young.
All four canals filled but DB was short. I had run out of my last obturator so I left it the way it was. I informed patient and told her that I buy all my own materials and that if it’s giving her any issues, I will re-do the root canal at no charge if gives her problems. She was very understanding about it. That was about 2 weeks ago and she’s been in a couple times since to get some fillings done. She hasn’t had any issues with chewing on it at all. Crown scheduled for the end of this month when she gets her bigger paycheck.
I felt like the obturator may have bound to the pulp chamber wall while filling the ML, even though it went to length. So I kept the RD clamp on to take the final x-ray. Looks good to me!

Conclusion:

All in all there hasn’t been any loss in efficiency with the Edge files coming from the W1. However, it’s been a lot better on my wallet since I have to buy my own stuff. Check it out! Edge hasn’t disappointed me yet!

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