Quick Tips: Cusps Tips as Reference Points Tip by L. Stephen Buchanan, DDS, FIDC, FACD

Here's a topic that came up at a recent 2-day lab course; I thought it might be helpful to pass it along. When setting your stop on shaping and gauging files in anteriors or bicuspids, you will always use the highest point on the tooth as a reference point. However, in molars, I use specific cusp tips as reference points in certain canals. Here are my suggestions:

In upper molars, use the MB cusp tip as a reference point for MB1 canals, and the Palatal cusp tip as a reference for all other canals in upper molars (MB2, DB and P).

In lower molars, use the MB and ML cusp tips for both mesial and distal canals.