Metallurgy

&
File Classification
David Landwehr D.D.S., M.S.
Capital Endodontics
Madison, Wisconsin
 Stainless Steel

• Minimal shape
• Time
• Transportation
• Cyclic fatigue
 File anatomy
0.02 taper

ISO 35 D-16 D-8 D-0

0.67 0.51 35
 Why Nickel Titanium

• Super Elastic
• Resists Cyclic Fatigue
• Corrosion Resistant
 Why Nickel Titanium
• Shape memory is the ability of nitinol to
undergo deformation at one
temperature, then recover its original,
undeformed shape upon heating above
its transformation temperature

• Superelasticity occurs at a narrow

temperature range just above its
transformation temperature; in this case,
no heating is necessary to cause the
undeformed shape to recover, and the
material exhibits enormous elasticity,
some 10-30 times that of ordinary metal
Stress-strain curve of
SS and NiTi

MARTENSITIC MARTENSITIC
AUSTENITE
TRANSFORMATION ELASTIC
 Disadvantages

• Shape Memory
• Separation
Fracture Mechanisms

• Torque
• Cyclic Fatigue
Cyclic Fatigue
differences in the
methodology affected the
fatigue behavior of rotary
instruments and the outcome
of these studies

An international standard for

cyclic fatigue testing of NiTi
rotary instruments is required
to ensure comparable results
 NiTi History

• 1991
• Passive radial lands
• Fixed tapers
• 1 cross-section (4 / 18 instruments)
Flat Radial Lands
(Passive)
Flat Radial Lands
(Passive)
 NiTi History

• 2001
• Active cutting edges
• Changing tapers
• 1 cross-section (4 instruments / 18
instruments)
No Radial Lands
(Active)
No Radial Lands
(Active)
 NiTi History
• 2010
• Active file
• Changing tapers
• Changing cross-section & unique
movements (1 instrument)
 NiTi History
• 2007
• New NiTi Metallurgy (Science of
refining metals)
• 2008
• File Movements and Numbers -
rotary vs. reciprocation, How many
files needed?
M - Wire

Processing for M-
Wire yields a
microstructure
containing martensite
 M - Wire

Endodontic instruments manufactured with M-

Wire are expected to have higher strength and
wear resistance than similar instruments made of
conventional superelastic NiTi wires because of its
unique nano-crystalline martensitic
microstructure
 NiTi History
• Currently
• Active file
• Changing tapers/Constant tapers
• Cross-section differences
• Rotary / Reciprocation
File Classifications

• Active Cutting or Radial Lands

• Fixed or Variable Taper
Classifications
Landed vs. Non-landed
 Fixed Taper

D16 D16 D16

.02 Taper .04 Taper .06 Taper

.32 mm
 .64 mm
 .96 mm

increase increase increase
D1 D1 D1
 Varying Taper

D16 D16 D16

.11 .04 .03

.10 .055 .045

.045 .065 .09

.02 .07 .09

D1 D1 D1
File Categorization

Landed
 Non-Landed 
 Non-Landed 
 Reciprocating

(Passive) (Active)
 (Active)

Fixed Taper Variable Taper

• ProFile • Vortex • ProTaper • WaveOne

Series 29
• Vortex Blue • ProTaper • WaveOne
• ProFIle ISO Gold Gold
• ProFile GT • ProGlider
• GT Series X
 File Categorization

Passive/
 Active/
 Active/
 Reciprocating Offset

Landed Non-Landed 
 Non-Landed

Fixed Fixed Varying

• ProFile • ProTaper • WaveOne • ProTaper

Series 29 • Vortex NEXT
• ProTaper • WaveOne
• ProFIle ISO • Vortex Gold Gold • TRUShape
Blue
• ProFile GT • ProGlider
• GT Series X