Sonendo, Inc. announced the publication of a new study that found the GentleWave System to be significantly more effective than conventional irrigation methods at dissolving tissue during root canal procedures. An essential, yet challenging step in the root canal procedure process, tissue removal is a key indicator of efficacy and how quickly the root canal system can be cleaned. According to the recently published data, the rate of tissue dissolution using the novel GentleWave System was 7 to 11 times higher than that of conventional methods, including syringe needle irrigation, passive ultrasound irrigation and laser irrigation.

Conventional methods of root canal treatment depend primarily on files to manually scrape and remove tooth structure and enlarge the canal space to facilitate irrigation. Studies have shown that files alone do not successfully remove all bacteria and infected tissue, with approximately 74% of all root canal procedures showing signs of residual tissue and bacteria post-procedure. Traditional irrigation techniques such as syringes, needles, ultrasound irrigation and laser irrigation also have limitations that could lead to ineffective cleaning.

In contrast, the GentleWave System employs a sterilized, single-use procedure instrument to automate the cleaning and disinfection of microscopic spaces within root canals without the need to remove tooth structure. Its proprietary mechanism of action, which combines procedure fluid optimization, broad-spectrum acoustic energy, tissue dissolution and advanced fluid dynamics, enables more consistent and complete cleaning and disinfection. Recently published in The Cureus Journal of Medical Science, this latest study assessed the efficacy of different technologies, including the GentleWave System with the CleanFlow(TM) procedure instrument compared to conventional irrigation technologies.