ENDODONTOLOGY Volume: 26 Issue 1 June 2014 Review Article

Glide path in endodontics

Anil Dhingra # *
Neetika # *

ABSTRACT
What is a glide path? Does it help in root canal procedure? Glide-path is a smooth radicular tunnel from canal orifice
to physiologic terminus (foraminal constriction). Its minimal size should be a “super loose No. 10” endodontic file.
The Glidepath must be discovered if already present in the endodontic anatomy or prepared if it is not present. Glide
path creation is essential for prevention of rotary file separation and most effective rotary use. Creating an.02 tapered
glide path is critical for the safe and effective use of nickel-titanium rotary shaping instruments. Glidepath can be
further described as a manual glide path created with handfiles, or a mechanical glide path created with rotary files.
Routine glide path establishment and enlargement with glide path files can increase the lifespan of rotary instruments
with a reduced risk of instrument fracture. Aim is to provide information about glide path with which we can
maintain the original canal anatomy with less modification of canal curvature and fewer canal aberrations.
Key words : Glide-path, rotary instruments, root canal anatomy, root canal treatment

Introduction The Glidepath can be short or long, narrow or

Cleaning and shaping of the root canal is the wide, essentially straight or curved, (Figure 1)
single most important phase of endodontic therapy. without the endodontic Glidepath, the rationale of
The goal of root canal instrumentation is to obtain endodontics cannot be achieved 2.
a continuous tapering funnel flowing with the shape
of the original canal from the coronal access to the
apex 1.

And so the Glidepath is the answer. It is the

starting point of radicular preparations. Without it,
cleaning and shaping becomes unpredictable or
impossible because there is no guide for endodontic
mechanics.
The endodontic Glide-path is a smooth
radicular tunnel from canal orifice to physiologic
terminus (foraminal constriction). Its minimal size
should be a “super loose No. 10” endondontic file.
The Glidepath must be discovered if already present
in the endodontic anatomy or prepared if it is not
present.
Figure 1: Glidepaths occur in multiple widths, lengths
and curvatures
In summary, glide path creation is essential for
prevention of rotary file separation and most
effective rotary use 3. In order to be safe, before
rotary shaping, the dentist must always discover that
a glide path already exists or that one needs to be
created 4.
Importance of Glide Path
Nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments were
introduced to improve root canal preparation 5. In
clinical practice these instruments are associated

# Department of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, * D.J. College of Dental Sciences & Research, Modinagar

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with an increased risk of fracture, mainly because
of bending normal stresses (failure by fatigue) and
torsional shear stresses (failure by torque) 6.
Various aspects might contribute in increasing
these stresses, such as excessive pressure on the
handpiece 7, a wide area of contact between the
canal walls and the cutting edge of the instrument,
or if the canal section is smaller than the dimension
of the non-active or non-cutting tip of the
instrument8, the latter case might lead to a taper
lock, especially with regularly tapered instruments9.
The risk of taper lock might be reduced by
performing coronal enlargement 10
and creating a
glidepath before using NiTi rotary instrumentation5,
both manual and mechanical.
A glide path is now recommended by virtually
all manufacturers of rotary nickel titanium files.
Without a glide path, rotary files can easily screw
themselves into canals by engaging more dentin
than ideal and separate.
The glide path assures the operator that the tip
of the file will not become locked as it moves
apically and that the canal is free and clear of
significant debris and blockage, could lead to
iatrogenic events 3.
Instruments in Preparation of Glide Path
Manual Mechanical
• K- Files • PathFiles
• C + files • G –files

What the rationale of endodontics requires is • C- Pilot files • Safesiders

the entire length of the root canal system be cleaned • C files • V-files
and shaped. Glidepath is pre requisite to this
• Hi-5 Files • PreShaper
mechanical objective 2.
• Pathfinders TM CS • EndoWave
A glide path is achieved when the file forming
it can enter from the orifice and follow the smooth • PathfindersTM
canal walls uninterrupted to the terminus 11. • Senseus Profinders

The lack of glide path establishment may result in: • K-Finders

• Ledge Formation.
• Blockage of root canals.
• Transportation.
• Zip Formation.
• Perforation.
A glide path helps prevent torque failure and
cyclic fatigue. Initially, when rotary files were
introduced there was no recommendation for glide
path creation. Subsequently, instrument fracture
became a significant issue until glide path creation
became known as an adjunct to safe rotary use.
• S-Finders
• D-Finders
Creating an .02 tapered glidepath is critical for
the safe and effective use of nickel-titanium rotary
shaping instruments. Glidepath can be further
described as a manual glide path created with
handfiles, or a mechanical glide path created with
rotary files 12.
Methods of Preparation of Glide Path
According to Mounce (2005), there are several

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Various manual files are: Various Mechanical Files are:

1) K-Files 6) Pathfinders TM
1) PathFile (Dentsply/ 3) SafeSiders with
CS(SybronEndo) Maillefer) EndoExpress System
(Essential Dental Systems)
Figure 13A: PathFile # 1 (0.13mm)

Figure 2: K files No.6 (Pink), No 8 (Grey),

No 10 (Purple) one of the first instruments Figure 13B: PathFile #2 (0.16 mm)
used to create a glide path

2) C+Files Figure 15:SafeSider files used to create a

glide path
(Densply/Maillefer) Figure 13C: PathFiles #3(0.19 mm)
Figure 7: PathfindersTM CS
Sybron Endo K1 (25mm) 4) V-Glide Path™2 File
2) G-Files (MicroMega) System (SSWhite)
Figure 3: C+ file (Dentsply/Maillefer) 7)PathfinderTM
no.10 (Purple)
(SybronEndo)
3) C-Pilot Files(VDW)

Figure 14: G1 File (MicroMega)

Figure 16: V-Glide Path™
2 File System (SS White)

advantages for using stainless steel K-files to prepare

Figure 4: C-pilot files ( VDW)
no.6 (pink),no.8(grey),no.10(purpl), Figure 8: PathfinderTM (SybronEndo) (25mm) a glide path:
no.12.5(orange),no.15(white)

8) SenseusTM Profinders
• K-files have excellent tactile sensation
4) C-Files
(Densply/Maillefer) • Low potential for file separation
(Roydent/Schwed/
• When a small size K-file is removed from the
canal, the file often has an impression of the
Figure 5a: C- files (Roydent)
canal, there by guiding the operator to the
no.010, 12.5, 015
curvatures present in the canal.
Figure 9: Senseus ProFinders (Densply /
Maillefer) • The stiffness of hand steel files aids in negotiating
Figure 5b: C- files by (SchwedAntaeos)
no. 6(pink) blockages and calcifications 13.
9) K-Finders (Sendoline)
In 2006 West recommended using a K-file
with an initial watch winding motion to remove
Figure 10: K -Finder no.15 (Sendoline)
restricted dentin in very narrow canals, followed
10) S-Finders (Sendoline) by a vertical in and out motion with a 1mm
Figure 5c: C-files by (Dentsply/Maillefer)
no.6 (pink) amplitude and gradually increasing the amplitude
5) Hi- Files(Miltex) Figure 11: S-Finders no 10 (Sendoline)
as the dentin wall wears away and the file advances
11) D-Finders (Mani) apically 11.

Kinsey and Mounce described a technique

using a reciprocating handpiece attached to small
size K-file for glide path preparation. The main
Figure 6: Hi-5 files (Miltex) no.6(pink), Figure 12: D-Finders no 10 file (Mani) advantage of using the reciprocating handpiece is
no.8(grey), no.10(purple),no 15(white)

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to reduce glide path preparation time and hand
fatigue with narrow, multiplanar root canals
compared to the conventional manual technique14.
Glide path preparation using a reciprocating
handpiece
Establish working length and patency of root
canals with 08 or 10 K-file.
Select the smallest size K-file that fits tightly
into the root canal. Pre-curve the tip of the file and
work the file down the canal using a ‘watch-wind’
motion until the file has reached working length.
Attach the M4 reciprocating handpiece to the
handle of the file. While keeping the file at working
length activate the handpiece. Let the handpiece
‘watch-wind’ the K-file for 5-10 seconds until you
feel that the file becomes loose in the root canal.
Keeping the hand piece activated, withdraw the
file approximately 0.5mm from canal and move it
back to length. Withdraw 1mm and move it passively
back to length. This process can be repeated until
the file can be with drawn and moved back to length
over a distance of 3-3.5mm. This will confirm glide
path preparation with a number 08 K-file.
Negotiate (by hand) the next ISO sized pre-
curved K-file in the canal – up to working length.
Repeat procedure. Follow the same procedure with
size 15 K-file. To check if a glide path was
established the clinician must be able to place size
15 or 20 K-file in root canal up to working length,
withdraw the file 1.5mm from canal and push it
back to working length without any difficulty (by
hand). Repeat the above but withdraw the file 3mm
and then 5mm from working length. When the file
can travel 5mm in the root canal without any
obstruction, a successful glidepath preparation is
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ANIL DHINGRA, NEETIKA
confirmed. Proceed with rotary NiTi files of your
choice to complete canal preparation.
Recently, PathFile NiTi rotary files (Dentsply
Maillefer) were introduced to for glide path
enlargement. The system consists of three rotary
instruments that can be used for glide path
enlargement 15.
Establish an initial glide path with the K-files
by using a “watch-wind” or “in-and-out movements”
by hand or by attaching a reciprocating handpiece.
The above procedure is then repeated but the
file is respectively withdrawn up to 3 and 5mm from
the root canal. When the file can travel 5mm from
working length up to the established working length
in the root canal, a successful glide path has been
established.
PathFile no.1 (0.13 mm) is introduced into the
root canal at a rotation speed of 300 rpm in a delicate
in and out movement until working length is reached
(3-5 seconds). The instrument is then removed from
the canal.
Irrigation after each PathFile is recommended
to remove dislodged debris from the root canal.
PathFile no.2 (0.16 mm) is then introduced
followed by PathFile no 3 (0.19 mm) following the
same protocol as described above.
Start preparing the root canal with NiTi rotary
instruments of choice 16.
Recently introduced G-files (Micro Mega), G1
and G2 are the rotary Ni-Ti files used to create the
glide path. The system consists of two rotary
instruments that can be used for glide path
enlargement after and establishment of a glidepath
with a number 10 K-file.

G-File Instrumentation Sequence
• Determine the working length with small
diameter number 8 or number 10 k-files.
• Rotating G1 instrument is introduced into the
canal, progressing with a slow movement
without any apical pressure until the working
length has been reached.
• After irrigation, the G2 instrument is used in the
same way.
• The last file is used again to check canal patency
and confirm the working length. (Fig. 17) 17.
Figure 17: Protocol for use of G-files
V-Glide Path™2 File Instrumentation Sequence
• Establish patency with no.10 K File.
• First no. 13 file is introduced into the canal, till
the working length.
• The canal is first irrigated and then no 17 file is
used up to the full working length (Fig.18) 18.
Pre Shapers Instrumentation Sequence
• Pre Shapers are single use instruments.
• Achieve patency and determine the working
length with a size 10 hand files.
• Use Pre Shapers size 14/0.2 to full working
length.
• Use Pre Shapers size 18/0.2 to full working
length.
• Glide path in done 19.
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Figure 18: Instrumentation sequence V-Glide Path TM system
Conclusion
It may be concluded that the endodontic
Glidepath is the secret to radicular rotary safety and
marks the path of modern endodontics. Routine glide
path establishment and enlargement with glide path
files can increase the lifespan of rotary instruments
with a reduced risk of instrument fracture.
By creating a glide path we can maintain the
original canal anatomy with less modification of
canal curvature and fewer canal aberrations. It also
provides the clinician with more confidence to
prepare more complex & challenging endodontic
cases.
Acknowledgement
The authors deny any conflicts of interest
related to this study.
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