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Learning Lessons Case #3 “Shaping”

December 18, 2018 by reid pullen Leave a Comment

Greetings Clinicians,

I’m proud to announce a preview of our third case in Learning Lessons Book #1 — on shaping. Learning Lessons are concise presentations of some of the most interesting and important problems–and their solutions–that I have come across in my clinical practice and teaching. Learning Lessons topics are covered in more detail in RootCanalAcademy.com Member Library media, including video, audio, procedure charts, articles, and more. Our Member Library is a superb value and accessible 24/7 to fit your schedule and learning pace. If you are not a member and want to see some of my teaching material, consider joining our Free Library. Go to RootCanalAcademy.com and be Better Tomorrow!

Enjoy our third case on shaping in the forthcoming Learning Lessons Book #1. We will publish the entire volume in our current 2018-2019 Winter campaign. I welcome comments!

Best!
Reid
ReidPullen@RootCanalAcademy.com

Click on each image of the book page to enlarge.

4 Quarters of the Root Canal Game Summary Graphic

November 27, 2018 by reid pullen Leave a Comment

Greetings Clinicians,
Here is a nice new graphic summarizing Root Canal Academy teaching. It puts on one page in a digestible format the complicated root canal process. My ‘4 Quarters’ teaching aims to organize the many sub procedures into a ‘football game’ format. Simple! Four quarters of procedures along with ‘pre game, halftime, and post game’ activities. I’ve found that this common format makes learning not only easier, but fun. Participation is great; winning is fun!

The 4 Quarters graphic can serve as a refresher for our Resident Library members–who get our entire game plan!–as well as an orientation for Free Library members and those considering joining our Free Library (BTW it’s FREE!).

Enjoy,
Reid

Haiti Mission Trip

November 5, 2018 by reid pullen Leave a Comment

A few weeks back I had the distinct pleasure to spend a week in Haiti performing dental procedures (mostly extractions, cleaning and simple restorations). This was my fourth trip to Port-au-Prince and it was one of the best. This was the first dental trip that I was able to bring a portable dental unit (I had to purchase a small compressor in Haiti) which allowed more versatility in our dental procedures. My good buddy Dr. Jon Heezen from Minnesota came with me along with my sweet 13 year old daughter Allie Mae. Thank you Dr. Heezen for helping me extract the difficult ones. There was not one tooth in 6 days of practice that Jon couldn’t get out. It was quite impressive. I would like to thank Dentsply Sirona for the incredible generous donations along with Septodont who provided all of the anesthesia and needles, etc. Thank you to Dentsply Sirona, Benco, SunStar and Henry Schein for all of their amazing donations.

I was also able to meet the Dean of the dental school in Haiti and take a tour of the school. It is very exciting to see what they are trying to do in their country by training comprehensive dentists to make an impact on the people.

Thank You Haiti Mission Sponsors!

Benco
SunStar
Henry Schein
Dentsply Sirona
Septodont

Learn from Scary Root Canal Problems

October 30, 2018 by reid pullen Leave a Comment

Halloween can bring scary moments to both kids and adults. In my area we have Knott’s Scary Farm (converted Knott’s Berry Farm) that starts in September and runs through October 31st. As a kid, this was one of the scariest nights of my life and in the horror of it all I would do it again. This taught me a very valuable lesson: sometimes scary is okay and we grow and learn from it.

I wanted to discuss a Scary Lesson of my own that occurred in private practice and highlight what I did to recover from this near failure.

Here is a case where I separated an orifice opener in the MB canal of #15 (Figure 1,2). This tooth was necrotic and if I don’t get this out, this case is bound to fail. Oh did I tell you that this patient is older and very crabby? The perfect storm.

Problem: Separated file right at the MB orifice.

Solution: Ultrasonics.

I used a ProUltra #4 at lower power to trough around the file and pop it out of the canal (Figure 3). I used an EndoVac Macrocannula to remove it from the pulp chamber (Figure 4) so that it didn’t fall into another canal (another scary lesson that has happened to me). I then proceeded to finish the case as normal by using the ProTaper Gold series, sealing with Thermaseal Plus Ribbon sealer and gutta percha in a warm vertical condensation technique (Figure 5). I completed this case in 2 visits due to the mistake and canal difficulty (see palatal apical curvature in Figure 5).

Uncomfortable with Root Canals? You Can Do It!

October 29, 2018 by reid pullen Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I was in my second ever Brazilian JiuJitsu tournament in Long Beach, CA. I entered because I wanted to test myself and my technique against other competitors. I also competed because it makes me extremely uncomfortable and I like to do things that take me out of my comfort zone. I was nervous the day prior and the day of the tournament.

When I arrived at the Long Beach arena for weigh in and warm-up I felt out off place. I was surrounded by a lot of tough looking Brazilian guys speaking Portuguese and looking quite confident.

My match was only supposed to last five minutes and ends either by submission or whoever scores the most points at the end of regulation. Once we started and locked up our grips my nerves disappeared and it was time to get to work. Our match was tied after 5 minutes so we fought another five and it was tied again. So we rolled another five and it was still tied with the next scoring point getting the win. Finally after fifteen plus minutes I lost by a takedown and was exhausted and disappointed but gave everything I had. Besides a black eye and a cut lip I was no worse for the wear and feeling good for competing. Even though I took the silver I still felt proud for competing in a fighting tournament as a 45-year-old endodontist.

Reid Pullen Entering the Un-Comfort Zone

Thought I’d be immediately eliminated. I got second place, silver. Don’t quit!

Sometimes I feel that after an endodontic failure or mishap that we want to quit and never get back in the ring. I have made many mistakes in my endodontic career and have learned more from failure than success. Of course, I’m always evaluating success and reviewing my technique, but if I fail—I want to know what could I do better and what circumstances can I control. My encouragement to you is to keep fighting in dentistry and do not be afraid to fail. Learn the root canal playbook and use this as your blue print for effective, efficient and excellent root canal treatment.

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