"It's as close to a perfect root canal as I can get..."

Dr. Todd BabineauxNew Iberia, Louisiana
General dentist, LSU School of Dentistry 1987

I graduated in 1987 and, until 2008, I had performed every root canal exactly the same way I was taught in school-with hand files and cold lateral condensation. For the most part, it was working really well. I wasn’t afraid to do a molar. I tackled nearly every single case I diagnosed completing roughly 200-300 root canals each year. The thing that caused me to search for a new system was that I felt as though I was working way too hard. I knew there had to be a better way. I began doing my homework and found that there were basically 2 major categories of rotary instruments: tapered and non-tapered. Why would I think that a tapered rotary driven file would do a better job than a hand-tapered file, just because it’s spinning faster? I was already experiencing some problems with hand files. I wanted something completely different.

How did you find this product?

I stumbled across the zero-degree (non-tapered) LightSpeedLSX file. I took a one-day hands-on course that Discus Dental offered in Atlanta and was sold. It met every hope I had - then exceeded it. 

How does this product give you confidence in clinical procedures?

This is the most revolutionary endodontic system that I’ve ever come across. I know that I am able to clean canals immensely better because I am able to prepare to much larger apical sizes, safely-sizes that rotary NiTi files cannot hope to achieve. LSX doesn’t bind along the sides of the walls as it goes down the canal. It’s incredibly flexible (like, you-can-tie-it-in-a-knot flexible) so I never worry about it ledging or transporting a canal. You’re getting down to the bottom of the root very quickly because there is little to no binding in the upper and middle thirds. That’s really sweet.

Many clinicians have “separation anxiety” – fear of breaking rotary files. I do not, because if I push the file too hard, one of two things will happen: It’ll either twist-up like a pretzel (Fig. A, Bottom) or the shaft will simply pull loose from the handle (Fig. A, Top). Retrieval is a no-brainer; I remove the broken fragment with a forcep and move on. This predictability gives me incredible confidence. In 3 years, I’ve completed nearly 1000 cases using the LightSpeed system. During that time, I’ve separated approximately 20 files but have never left one in the canal!

How many clinicians can say that when using NiTi rotary instruments?

When you combine LSX with EndoVac, you’re close to a 100% bacterial kill rate as verified through multiple university studies. The best part for me is that my patients are typically pain-free almost instantly. That’s a good feeling, particularly as a general dentist who doesn’t specialize in endodontics. Once you’ve killed the bugs, you’ve got the case in your back pocket.