North Texas Dentistry Volume 7 Issue 5 NTD 2017 ISSUE 5 DE | Page 7

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Dr. O’Leary embraces emerging technol-
ogy that she believes will elevate the
success of endodontic treatment and
further improve treatment outcome.
he enemy of the endodontist is the unknown. While the
central objective of endodontic treatment is to access,
prepare, disinfect, and obturate the canal space, the in-
tricate, branching anatomy of the interior of a human
tooth can defy full discovery. Traditional root canal treat-
ment (RCT) requires a variety of delicate instruments and la-
borious effort under microscopic guidance, but portions of the
root canal system often remain unrevealed or out of reach.
The term “root canal” itself misrepresents the anatomical real-
ity, which is more accurately described as a complex canal sys-
tem that is not only intricate but also highly variable from
patient to patient. Using micro-computed tomography (μCT),
researchers have determined that even the basic anatomy of
canals commonly taught in dental school may be outdated and
overly simplified. Their complex morphology makes canals hard
to visualize with a high level of accuracy and completeness, and
nearly impossible to access with conventional instruments. Any
areas left unaddressed will remain a hidden breeding ground
for microorganisms and can lead to treatment failure.
For Dr. Le O’Leary, the continual pursuit of clinical excellence
has driven her desire to identify and acquire the best possible
tools for detecting and treating hidden pathology in the root
canal system. Dr. O’Leary has been in endodontic practice for
21 years and, in 2007, was the first endodontist in the state of
Texas to adopt Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)
technology. This powerful tool enhanced her capacity for accu-
rate diagnostic assessment and treatment planning, improved
outcomes, and supercharged the growth of her practice.
Now, 11 years after opening her Plano office, Dr. O’Leary is once
again embracing emerging technology that she believes
will elevate the success of endodontic treatment and further
improve treatment outcome.
She recently acquired the Prexion 3D Elite CBCT imaging sys-
tem, which offers enhanced clarity with lower radiation. The
For Dr. Le O’Leary, the continual pur-
suit of clinical excellence has driven
her desire to identify and acquire the
best possible tools for detecting and
treating hidden pathology in the
root canal system.
PreXion CBCT has the smallest focal point in the industry and
couples the smallest focal spot (0.3 mm) with a voxel size of
0.1 – 0.2, 1024 volume size, 360° gantry rotation, and advance-
ments in the PreXion software. Because of these advances,
PreXion can deliver 30% lower radiation exposure without com-
promising the image quality.
Another reason Dr. O’Leary chose the PreXion CBCT system
was that the software flawlessly integrates into her network
without any specialized hardware. The PreXion3D Viewer can
be installed on any Windows PC on the network, allowing scans
to be viewed from any computer.
PreXion, Inc. has over 15 years experience with DICOM image
processing and software visualization. The company has im-
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