This purportedly makes it accurate under all canal conditions including a canal that is wet with sodium hypochlorite, water, hydrogen peroxide, local anesthetic, blood, or pulp. To use the unit, an electrode is clipped to the working length file and a second electrode, called the contrary electrode, is placed in contact with the patient's lip. The Root ZX has a large LCD display and provides a constant indication of file position with respect to the apex. The unit has three different audible alarms that correlate to file position. An earphone is provided so that the patient doesn't have to listen to the alarms.
All attachments are autoclavable for infection control.
The Root ZX is an electronic apex locator that evaluators found to be extremely accurate, particularly for difficult cases. The evaluators felt the Root ZX aided working length determination and considerably reduced chair time. The major drawback was the design of the file holder. The attachment of the file to the file holder reduced the working length of the file by 3 mm. Both evaluators felt the Root ZX should be part of the required armamentarium for endodontic procedures and would purchase this device for their clinics.