Elements Obturation Unit

Consultants’ Comments

• “The display is easy to read.”
• “Easy to use on difficult patients.”
• “It cuts the time to fill a tooth in half.”
• “A very nice, quality fill.”
• “On three occasions the plastic cap on the GP cartridge became lodged in the unit.”

Description

The Elements Obturation Unit is a portable endodontic unit combining the System B heat source with a motorized extruder handpiece. It may be used for filling root canals using the “Continuous Wave of Condensation” or other warm gutta percha techniques. The compact unit consists of a tilting polarized liquid crystal display with icons that indicate which of the functions is active. The System B and extruder handpieces are held in hangers mounted on opposite sides of the display unit. The handpieces have silicone-covered aluminum shields that help maintain a comfortable temperature to grip. The shields may be removed and autoclaved. The System B handpiece accepts tips for down-packing, hot-pulp testing and cauterizing. Each function has pre-set temperatures and durations. Digital temperature readout of the System B plugger tip is continuously displayed. The five supplied plugger tips, sizes 0.04 to 0.12, fit the original System B. The cautery tip is not yet available. The extruder accepts disposable cartridges of gutta percha or RealSeal, a thermoplastic, polymeric obturation material that handles like gutta percha, yet flows at a lower temperature. Cartridge needles are bent at a 45° angle and are available with 20-, 23-, and 25-gauge tip diameters. Precise temperature control produces the correct viscosity for material delivery with the touch of a button. The extruder has two speeds and when extrusion is halted, the plunger retracts automatically to prevent excess material from being extruded. The Elements Obturation Unit was evaluated by eleven consultants and used in over 50 clinical cases. This equipment received a 96% clinical rating.

Equipment Features

The Elements Obturation Unit is well constructed and compact, taking up less counter space than two separate units would. The unit is easy to use and provides accurate, dense filling of root canals. The disposable gutta percha/RealSeal cartridges are easy to load and heat quickly – 45 seconds or less. Tip diameters are adequate for all canals. Consultants found the small 25–gauge tips especially useful for filling narrow molar canals. The medium 23-gauge tips were the most popular size overall. Cartridges contain enough material to fill an average of 2-3 canals. The autoclavable aluminum shields are well insulated and durable after repeated sterilization. Handpiece temperatures remain comfortable to handle during use, and the plugger tips cool almost instantly, preventing accidental injury. The extruder handpiece is larger and heavier than the System B handpiece due to the integrated motor, but rests comfortably in the hand. A slight rotation of the wrist allows the operator to see the gauge that indicates the amount of obturation material remaining in the cartridge. One hundred percent of the consultants would recommend and switch to the Elements Obturation Unit.

Clinical Tips

• Pre-bend the plugger tip to conform to the curve of the canal.
• Do not bend or put heavy pressure on the tip of the obturation cartridge. It is constructed of a soft metal and can break or kink.
• Prime the obturation cartridge by expressing a small amount of material before taking it to the tooth.
• Obturation cartridges are intended for singlepatient use.
• When using the hot pulp test tip, melt a large gutta percha cone onto the tip as a medium between the tip and the tooth.