James Darcey

Consultant and Honorary Clinical Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry, University Dental Hospital of Manchester

Vital pulp therapy: the past, present and future

Vital pulp therapy (VPT) is a biologically based concept that aims to preserve all or part of the pulp that has been compromised by caries or trauma.

Dental trauma: management of complicated crown root fractures

A fit and healthy 17-year-old female presented at The University Dental Hospital of Manchester with fractured anterior teeth following trauma. Further history revealed she had attended her general...

The orthodontic/endodontic interface part 4

More patients are undergoing orthodontic treatment and mild external root resorption is a common finding.1, 2 This is usually not clinically significant with a root length reduction commonly of 1−2...

The Orthodontic/Periodontal Interface Part 3

The sequence of disease management includes three fundamental stages:.

Orthodontic/restorative interface part 2

A large number of factors will influence the treatment planning process and final treatment decision. These include patient factors, dental factors, orthodontic factors and soft tissue factors; these...

Modern endodontic principles part 8: the future of endodontics

The term ‘bioactive materials’ covers a range of similar calcium silicate-based materials that are not only biocompatible but promote healing and regeneration of tissues. The most notable examples of...

Modern endodontic principles part 7: the restorative interface

If the coronal structures are largely intact (particularly marginal ridges) and loading is favourable, a simple plastic restoration can be placed in the access cavity. Placing a bonded restoration...

Modern endodontic principles part 6: managing complex situations

The first stage in root canal retreatment is the careful assessment of and, if necessary, the removal of existing restorations to access the canal system. Attempting retreatment through an existing...

Modern endodontic principles part 5: obturation

Many materials and techniques are available to obturate the root canal system. Grossman et al have described the properties of an ideal obturation material (Table 1),4 however, no single material can...

Modern endodontic principles part 4: irrigation

During endodontic treatment mechanical debridement alone will not rid the root canals of bacteria,1 regardless of whether this is done by hand files or rotary instruments.2 First, instruments do not...

Modern endodontic principles part 3: preparation

The majority of micro-organisms are in the coronal portion of the canal and pulp chamber.4 Thus, whatever instruments are used, a crown down approach and only initial scouting of the canal prior to...

Modern endodontic planning part 2: access and strategy

Accessing the root canal system can be one of the biggest challenges to successful root canal treatment. The ability to get instruments into the canal system unimpeded using a glide path without...

Modern endodontic planning part 1: assessing complexity and predicting success

Dentists are often asked by patients, ‘Will it work?’ and it falls to the dentist to give an indication as to the projected success rate of their treatment. The definition of success has been a topic...