SYRINGE FOR OBTURATION OF ROOT CANAL CAVITIES

Abstract: An electrically heated endodontic syringe (10) for extruding and injecting heated thermoplastic material, such as gutta-percha, through a hollow needle (38) into a root canal cavity to completely fill and seal the cavity has a tubular cylindrical heater body (28) of high thermal conductivity attached to the end of a tubular syringe barrel (12). A hollow needle (38) is attached in heat conductive relationship to the end of the heater body (28) by means of a high thermal conductivity hub (40). The needle (38) is at least about 2.5 cm long and has a diameter within the range of diameters of an 18 gauge needle to that of a 30 gauge needle so as to be manually bendable to conform to the tooth cavity. Thermoplastic gutta-percha contained in the barrel (12) is injected into a root canal cavity by first softening the material in the heater body (28) and then forcing the softened material through the needle (38) by means of a piston (16) in the syringe barrel (12). The needle (38) is fabricated from a malleable material, such as copper or silver, having a coefficient of thermal conductivity of at least about 0.83 gram calorie/second cm<2> (<o>C/cm). An electric resistance heating wire (34) around heater body (28) provides sufficient heat to the body (28) and needle (38) to maintain the entire length of the needle at a temperature of at least about 230<o>F (110<o>C), at which the thermoplastic material will flow but below a temperature at which the material is thermally decomposed.

Description: -1- SYRINGE FOR OBTURATION OF ROOT CANAL CAVITIES Description Technical Field This invention is in the field of syringes and more particularly relates to syringes adapted for extruding heated thermoplastic materials through a hollow needle to fill a root canal cavity. Background Presently, root canal cavities as well as other dental cavities are obturated by filling them with heated gutta-percha. Gutta-percha is a purified, coagulated, milky exudate obtained from certain species of trees, and is defined as a transisomer of rubber. It becomes plastic at about 140°F (60°C) , and will flow through hollow needles of the type used in dental syringes at around 230 β F (110°C) . The method most commonly employed for filling dental cavities with gutta-percha is to apply small amounts of heated gutta-percha into the cavity with a hot probe and to compact the material within the cavity using a condensor. This is a very time con¬ suming and tedious process, at best, however, and may, in some cases, not result in complete filling and sealing of the dental cavity. Recently, it has been recognized that the appli¬ cation of injection molding principles to obturate root canal cavities with gutta-percha offers great promise. It has been demonstrated, for example, by -2- researchers in the field of endodontics that gutta- percha can be used to obturate root canal cavities using injection molding principles. See Yee, F.S., Marlin, J., Krakow, A.P., and Gron, P.; "Three- Dimensional Obturation of the Root Canal Using Injection-Molded, Ther oplasticized Dental Gutta- Percha": J. Endodontics, 3_; No. 5; May, 1977; pp 168-174. These experiments were performed in vitro, but their application in vivo would seem possible if suitable equipment were available. In addition to achieving outstanding sealing of the cavities, the techniques offer potential advantages in their simplicity, reduction in time by skilled personnel, and reduction in the amount of manipula- tive procedures necessary for condensation of gutta-percha. Despite such promise, these techniques have not been widely accepted due to the lack of suitable equipment, such as dental syringes, for carrying out such techniques. There have been hypodermic needles and tools which have heated tips, of course. For example. Piper et al., in U. S. 3,698,394, disclose a surgi¬ cal hypodermic needle wherein the tip of the needle is heated with an electric current passed through resistance wires within the needle adjacent to its tip. This needle is used to destroy blood vessels or tissues. Clearly, such a needle would be un¬ suitable for filling dental cavities, such as those formed in root canal work, since the heating wires and insulation surrounding the needle make it so bulky that it would be difficult to insert and manipulate into a root canal cavity. -3- French patent number 1,120,779 discloses an electrically heated syringe for filling surface dental cavities. However, this apparatus does not include a thin, elongated hollow needle of the type 5 necessary to insert into root canal cavities and it is not used to inject the conventional root canal filling material gutta-percha. Gutta-percha is not readily plasticized. In fact, the problem of supplying sufficient heat to a small diameter hollow needle so that its entire length, including its tip, stays above the temperature at which the gutta-percha material being extruded is plastic is very difficult inview of the convection losses which occur along the needle. In applications such as obturation of root canal cavities, the needle re¬ quires a minimum length, often one inch (2.54 cm) or more, and it is difficult to maintain the required temperature along the entire length of such needles. Thus, despite great promise, injection molding principles have not been widely accepted by the dental profession for obturating root canal cavities. This is principally due to the lack of adequate equipment for applying such principles to this problem. Disclosure of the Invention This invention relates to a syringe which is uniquely designed to allow the extrusion of heated thermoplastic materials through hollow needles. This syringe has a chamber means for holding a supply of thermoplastic material, such as a relatively elongated, hollow syringe barrel. A * \ 'z **• -4- hollow needle through which the thermoplastic material is to be ejected is fabricated from a material hav¬ ing a relatively high thermal conductivity which insures that sufficient heat flows along the needle to maintain it at a temperature above the point at which the thermoplastic material will flow, despite convection or other losses. The needle is joined to the chamber means by suitable means for joining such as a needle hub. Preferably, the needle hub is also fabricated from a material having high ther¬ mal conductivity. Means for advancing the thermo¬ plastic material from the chamber means through the hollow needle are provided, and commonly are a pis¬ ton located within the hollow syringe barrel. Finally, means for heating the thermoplastic mate¬ rial and needle to temperatures sufficient to allow the thermoplastic material to flow through the needle are provided. Such means may bey for example, a separate heater section inserted in the assembly between the needle hub and syringe cylinder. A suitable heater can be formed from a hollow tube fabricated from material having a relatively high thermal conductivity and wrapped with electrical resistance heating wires over which thermal insul- ation is provided. The syringe of this invention allows the out¬ standing promise offered by injection molding tech¬ niques to be realized in obturating dental cavities with gutta-percha or other thermoplastic materials. Such promise is realized because the syringe is uniquely designed to maintain the needle at a temperature above the plastic point of the thermo- • 5- plastic material along its entire length to insure that the thermoplastic material is maintained and extruded in a plastic state. Because of this, the thermoplastic material flows within the dental cavity and conforms to the dimensions of the cavity insuring that outstanding obturation is obtained. Additionally, this syringe has self-contained heating elements and does not depend upon an ex¬ ternal source of heat, such as the hot baths so e- times employed in prior attempts to heat syringes. These self-contained heating elements are suffi¬ cient, however, to rapidly heat the thermoplastic material to a temperature above its plastic point which reduces the amount of time required to com- plete introduction of the material into the cavity. Such rapid heating is possible because of the out¬ standing thermal paths provided by the design des¬ cribed herein. Since the self-contained heating elements may be powered by a source also located within the syringe, there is also great flexibility in designing portable syringe models. The syringe of this invention is also con¬ structed so that it can be held without any re¬ quirement for special heat-insulating gloves, etc. Such heat-insulating gloves are, of course, cumber¬ some and tend to interfere with the freedom of movement which is necessary in obturating root canal cavities. Thus, root canal cavities can be filled effica- ciously, easily and quickly by employing syringes according to this invention and this has not been possible heretofor. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a syringe according to this invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating each of the components in the syringe of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one internal heater design suitable for syringes of this invention; and. Fig. 4 is a cut-away side elevation view illus- trating an alternative embodiment of a syringe according to this invention which is trigger operated. Description of Preferred Embodiments The invention will now be described further by reference to the Figures in more detail. Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of a hand-operable syringe 10 according to this invention. Syringe 10 has a hollow cylinder or barrel 12 which is capable of holding an internal supply of thermo¬ plastic material. Heft 14 is attached to barrel 12 to facilitate handling and operation of syringe 10. Piston 16 is slidably engaged within barrel 12 and serves to advance thermoplastic material through barrel 12. Piston 16 has two .narrow grooves, 18 and 20, cut into its outer surface and extending around its entire periphery. Grooves 18 and 20 serve to catch and trap heated thermoplastic mate¬ rial flowing in the reverse direction, and act, therefore, as seals. Elongated rod 22 is integrally attached to piston 16 and has a threaded portion extending from barrel 12 and beyond heft 14. A circular, internally -7- threaded nut 24 is mounted on threaded rod 22. Circular nut 24 can be used to meter the extrusion of a predetermined amount of thermoplastic material by positioning it an appropriate distance from heft 5 14 and then advancing rod 14 until nut 24 meets heft 14. Thumb pad 26 is provided, of course, to receive thumb pressure to advance rod 22 and pis¬ ton 16 as syringe 10 is held. A wide range of materials can be used in fabri- 10 eating the components of syringe 10 already des¬ cribed. It is preferred, however, that all of these components be fabricated from materials having rela¬ tively low thermal conductivity, such as those with a coefficient of thermal conductivity of below about 15 20 Btu/(hr) (ft 2 ) (°F/ft) , (.083 gram calorie/second cm ( β C/cm)) to minimize heating of these components. In typical cases, barrel 12 might be constructed of stainless steel, glass or ceramics, heft 14 might be brass, and piston 16, rod 22, nut 24 and pad 26 might 0 be constructed of stainless steel. Those skilled in the art will recognized, however, that many glass, cer¬ amic, plastic, metal, or other materials will be suit¬ able for each of these components. A heater section for syringe 10 is positioned 5 contiguous to barrel 12. The heater section has a tubular heater body 28 with raised flanges 30 and 32 at opposite sides thereof. Tubular heater body 28 has an inside diameter matching that of barrel 12. It is attached by an external thread on the 0 part of body 28 extending beyond flange 30, which thread is matched to the internal thread at the -8- terminal part of barrel 12. Heater body 28 is fabricated from a material having relatively good thermal conductivity, such as copper. As illus¬ trated in Fig. 2, a washer 33, which can be formed from Teflon® or other heat-insulating materials, is used as a heat barrier between heater body 28 and syringe barrel 12. Electrical resistance heating wire 34 is wound around tubular heater body 28 between raised flanges 30 and 32. Nichrome or German silver wire is suit¬ able. A thermally insulating sleeve 36 is then slipped over wire 34 to provide an outer covering at much lower temperatures. Although not illus¬ trated, heating wire 34 can be provided with power from an internal power source, such as batteries, or from an external source, such as a transformer connected to an a-c outlet. Hollow needle 38 is used to deliver extruded heated thermoplastic material into the cavity being filled. Typically, such needles useful in obturat¬ ing root canal cavities have a needle gauge of from about 18 to about 30, and are about one inch (2.54 cm) or more in length. A convenient way to attach needle 38 is by using hub 40, which has an internal diameter matching that of syringe barrel 12 and also has an externally threaded portion which can be screwed tightly into flange 32 on heated body 28 thereby providing outstanding thermal contact therebetween. Needle 38 can be joined to hub 40 by swaging it in- to place and by using a silver braze which flows into any air space between needle 38 and hub 40; thus, excellent thermal contact is also achieved at this point. -9- Most commonly used materials, including most metals, are not sufficient for needle 38. Because it is an elongated tube which must be maintained at an elevated temperature along its entire length, only materials having a coefficient of thermal con- 2 ductivity of greater than about 200 Btu/(hr) (ft ) 2 (°F/ft) (.83 gram calorie/second cm ( β C/cm)) are suitable. Silver and copper are particularly pre¬ ferred materials because of their high thermal con- ductivities and physiological inertness. Also, an 18 to 30 gauge silver or copper needle can be readily bent with one's fingers and can thus be termed manu¬ ally malleable. This enables the endodontist to bend the needle before it is heated and thus shape the needle along its length so that it conforms to the root canal cavity. A 30 gauge needle has an outer diameter (OD) of .012 inch (.30 mm), an inner diameter (ID) of .006 inch (.15 mm), and a wall thickness of .003 inch (-075 mm). An 18 gauge needle has an OD of .049 inch (1.2 mm), an ID of .033 inch (.85 mm), and a wall thickness of .008 inch (.20 mm). Syringe 10 is operated as follows. Piston 16 is withdrawn from barrel 12 by grasping heft 14 and pulling pad 26 rearwardly. Thermoplastic mate¬ rial, such as a stick of gutta-percha, is then inserted into barrel 12 after which piston 16 is reinserted and moved in the forward direction until it contacts the thermoplastic material. The needle is then bent so that its shape conforms to that of the root canal cavity. The power supply fo heating wire 34 is then activated to heat the thermoplastic material within heater body 28. The heater pro¬ vides sufficient heat to heat the end of the needle c::H -10- 38 at the hub 40 to a temperature which is suffi¬ cient to maintain the entire length of the needle above about 230°F (110°C) at which the thermoplastic material will flow but below the temperature at which the material is thermally decomposed. After a short time, heated thermoplastic material can be extruded from needle 38 by applying thumb pressure to pad 26 thereby advancing piston 16 in the forward direc¬ tion. Circular nut 24 can be used as a metering indicator. The plastic extruded from the needle surrounds the needle as it fills the cavity. The plastic is thus kept soft by the heated needle as it flows into the cavity and complete, filling of the cavity is assured. As the needle is then pulled from within the mass of thermoplastic material, ex¬ trusion of material is continued to fill the void left by the needle. After the desired amount of thermoplastic material has been extruded, the power supply is inactivated. A modified heater section is illustrated in Fig. 3. Therein, it can be seen that the heater is formed from a tubular body section 40, fabricated from a metal or other material having high thermal conductivity. Tubular body section 40 might be formed, for example, from copper or silver. A re¬ cessed area is provided for wrapping the tubular heater section with electrical resistance wire 42. Heat insulating tape 44, or other insulating mate¬ rial, is placed over electrical resistance wire 42 and a radiation shield 46, such as aluminum foil, is added. This heater section is also provided with internal threads suitable for attachment to the external threads of a syringe barrel at one end, and external threads suitable for mating with the internal threads of a needle hub at the other end. -11- An alternative embodiment of a syringe accord¬ ing to this invention, which is trigger operated, is illustrated in Fig. 4. Trigger-operated syringe 50 has an outer housing 52 which contains most of the components of syringe 50. Syringe 50 delivers extruded heated thermoplastic material in response to finger pressure on trigger lever 54. As trigger 54 is depressed, activator lever 55 closes micro- switch 56 completing the circuit formed by contacts 58 and 60, respectively, contacting the terminals of batteries 62 and 64. Thus, electrical current flows to heater coil 66. As in prior embodiments, heating coil 66 is wrapped around a recessed area of tubular heater body 68. Heating coil 66 has a male electrical connector 70 which can be inserted into female electrical connector 72 mounted ex¬ ternally to barrel 74 of syringe 50. This provides a quick disconnect capability. Depressing trigger lever 54 also simultaneously causes pawl rod 75 to advance thereby advancing ratchet rack 76 by means of spring-loaded pawl 78. Pawl 78 has a stop thereon, and after the stop is reached trigger lever 54 is released. Trigger spring 77 causes trigger 54 to return to its orig- inal position thereby allowing pawl 78 to open and re-engage gear rack 76 so that piston 80 can be advanced further by depressing trigger 54 once again. Rack 76 is integrally attached to piston rod 79 so that its movement is transmitted to piston 80, thereby extruding thermoplastic mate¬ rial through needle hub 82 and hollow needle 84. -12- Trigger-operated syringe 50 can.be reloaded by depressing spring-loaded lock 86 to release pawl 78 from rack 76. This allows piston rod 78 to be withdrawn by simply pulling rearwardly on knob 88. In addition to being driven by hand, the pis¬ ton could also be driven mechanically, such as by a spring, or by a motor, pnuematically, hydraulically or by other means. Those skilled in the art will recognize many equivalents to the specific elements, components, materials and steps described herein. Such equiva¬ lents are intended to be covered by the following claims.

Claims: -13- CLAIMS 1. A dental syringe assembly having a hollow syringe for holding a supply of thermoplastic material, an electrical heater carried by the syringe for heating and softening the thermoplastic material in the syringe, and a plunger within the syringe for injecting the heated thermoplastic material through a nozzle adjacent the heater into a den¬ tal cavity, characterized in that: said nozzle is a thin-walled, elongated, tubular needle, having a length of at least about 2.5 cm and an outer diameter within the range of diameters from that of an 18 gauge needle to that of a 30 gauge needle, fabricated from a material having a coefficient of thermal conductivity of at least about .80 gram calorie/ 2 second cm ( 0 C/cm), the needle be- ing manually malleable, removably connected to the syringe, and suitable for insertion into a root canal cavity to inject thermoplastic material into the root canal cavity, and said needle having an end in heat exchange rela¬ tionship with said heater, the heater providing sufficient heat to heat said end of said needle to a temperature which is sufficient to maintain the entire length of said needle at above about 110°C at which said thermoplastic material will flow but below the temper¬ ature at which the material is thermally decomposed. -14- 2. A dental syringe assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said electrical heater is a separate, hollow heater section a first end of which is removably connected to and communicating with the syringe ' and a second end of which is remov¬ ably connected to and communicating with a needle hub. 3. A dental syringe assembly as claimed in Claim 2 further comprising a thermally insulating washer positioned between the heater body and the syringe. 4. A dental syringe assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the needle is joined to the electri¬ cal heater by a hub, the hub being fabricated from a material having high thermal conductivity. 5. A dental syringe assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the plunger is trigger operated. 6. A dental syringe assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the needle is formed of silver or copper. -15- A method filling dental root canal cavities with thermoplastic material comprising the steps of: providing a dental syringe having a chamber for holding a supply of thermoplastic material, a tubular needle, having a length of at least about 2.5 cm and an outer diameter within the range of diameters from that of an 18 gauge needle to that of a 30 gauge needle, fabricated from a material having high thermal conductivity, a heater for heating the thermoplastic mate¬ rial and a plunger for pushing softened thermoplastic mate¬ rial through the needle; by means of the syringe hearer, heating thermoplastic material within the syringe chamber and heating the needle to temperatures sufficient to soften the thermo¬ plastic material and allow it to flow through the needle; positioning the needle in a dental cavity; pushing softened thermoplas¬ tic material through the needle into the dental cavity and thereby filling the cavity; and permitting the thermoplastic material within the dental cavity to cool and become a hardened mass. CM?I -16- 8. A method of filling dental root canal cavities as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the needle is fabricated from a material having a coefficient of thermal conductivity of at least about .80 gram calorie/second cm 2 (°c/cm) . 9. A method of filling dental root canal cavities as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the needle is bent prior to being inserted into the root canal cavity in order to shape the needle to conform to the cavity.

Inventors: HERSKOVITZ SHELDON B, MARLIN JAY, STIGLITZ MARTIN R
Applicants: SOLAR ENERGY TECHN INC
Application year: 1981
Main classification: A61C5
IPC codes: A61C5