HYPOTHESIS Open Access Expandable Micro-motor Bur, design of a new device for least invasive extraction of broken teeth roots Amir Hashem Shahidi Bonjar Abstract Background: Extraction of a broken tooth root is often a traumatic experience for both the practitioner and the patient. To extract broken roots, generally invasive approaches as open window surgeries or mucoperiosteal flap and/or removal of buccal bone are performed. Presentation of the hypothesis: Expandable micro-motor bur (EMB) is a hypothetical design of a dental instrument proposed for removal of broken teeth roots that cannot be extracted by the routine closed methods and in which common instrumentations cannot afford to accomplish. Implication of EMB would introduce a new technique in removal of broken teeth roots in which surgical trauma is minimized and so post-extraction disorders. It would eliminate surgical invasion to the surrounding tissues; and also it would eliminate profound hand forces by the practitioner, consequently reduces stress for both the practitioner and the patient. It would eliminate high risk aftermaths such as operative morbidity (due to bone loss), maxillary sinus exposure and probable need for additional surgery as are indicative of some conventional open access approaches. Testing the hypothesis: Further studies are needed to confirm its effect in clinical cases. The effectiveness of EMB should be verified firstly by animal experiments. The likelihood of its negative influence on nearby vascular and nerve system should be well evaluated. Implications of the hypothesis: Implication of EMB would be of interest to both patients and the surgeon due to the following main achievements: a) no need for mucoperiosteal flap, hence preservation of soft tissue, b) no need for osteotomy, hence retention of buccal bone, c) less risk of sinus exposure, d) minimum chance of post operative infections due to eliminated surgeries in soft tissues and bones and e) in terms of esthetics, it will have a special meaning for immediate placement of dental implants. EMB’ s structural components include Bur head, Spacers and Bur base. A micro motor would power its spin. In contrast to conventional surgical approaches, EMB procedure is conservative. It is anticipated that EMB would provide less traumatic and least post-operative complications in extraction of broken teeth roots. Keywords: Tooth extraction, Complicated root extraction, Expandable micro-motor bur, EMB Background The broken teeth roots may be difficult to remove and the dentist should strongly consider performing an open extraction after initial attempts at forceps re- moval have failed [1-3]. Open extractions include in- vasive open window surgeries or mucoperiosteal flap and/or removal of buccal bone [4-10]. Occasionally, it is necessary to prepare a purchase point with the bur and to use an elevator as the Crane pick to elevate the remaining root [11,12]. However, these treat- ments have aftermaths characterized by post-operative disorders [13-17]. Therefore, seeking an easy and effective method to remove broken teeth roots and resolve the operative and post operative complica- tions is necessary for dental clinicians and the patients. Correspondence: shahidiah@gmail.com Students Research Committee, Dental School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1983963113, Iran © 2013 Shahidi Bonjar; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Shahidi Bonjar Annals of Surgical Innovation and Research 2013, 7:2 http://www.asir-journal.com/content/7/1/2