Patent ID: 6997713

Claim:
In a dental method for a root canal comprising drilling a tooth, mechanical canal debridement, and chemical canal debridement, the improvement comprising the steps of: (a) providing a microtube comprising a tubular member having anterior and posterior ends, an outside diameter of from about ten to about one hundred microns, and an inside diameter of from about five to about fifty microns, the tubular member being fabricated by metallic electrodeposition; a side port disposed at the anterior end of the tubular member; and an inner core of a material capable of transmitting a laser beam, the inner core extending from the posterior end through the side port at the anterior end of the tubular member; (b) disposing the side port of the tubular member at the site of the root canal; (c) disposing an axial opening at the posterior end of the tubular member at a source of the laser beam; and (d) delivering the laser beam through the side port of the tubular member to the site of the root canal, thereby combining the mechanical canal debridement and the chemical canal debridement into a single procedure, enabling removal of pulpal tissue in three-dimensional volume elements which files and other instruments cannot reach, and sterilizing the canal and ablating the pulpal tissue.