Mechanical Behavior of a NiTi Endodontic File During Insertion in an Anatomic Root Canal Using Numerical Simulations

Superelastic NiTi shape memory alloys (SMA) have biomedical applications including rotary endodontic files. These alloys are used thanks to their flexibility, which is due to solid-solid martensitic transformation. Unfortunately, the intracanal file separation can occur during canal preparation. To avoid this problem and to have a good idea of the mechanical behavior of these instruments, finite elements simulations taking into account the real shape of root canals are proposed in this study. This is possible by using a well-adapted model describing all the particularities of SMA and representative limit conditions. The behavior model has been validated in previous studies under complex loadings. It is implemented in ABAQUS^® finite elements software. The anatomic shapes of root canals are extracted by microtomography using a real tooth. They are applied as limit conditions in realized simulations to be as near as possible to clinical conditions. The mechanical behavior of an endodontic file is then simulated during insertion in a root canal without and with rotation. This permits to obtain different information like the loading applied to the instrument during its use, the stress, and the phase transformation fields through the file. This is useful not only for clinical use but also for new NiTi endodontic instruments design.