RECIPROC® Minima · Dentsply Sirona
A slimmer file for the canal that argues back
The single-file reciprocating concept, rebuilt on a thinner wire with a lower average taper – for narrow, curved and calcified anatomy. UK stock, ready to order.
Or call 01733 404 999
4
SIZES | 3
LENGTHS | 0.77 mm
R20 MAX FLUTE Ø | 9.5 mm
SHORT HANDLE |
One file, and a deliberate decision to take less dentine
The canal that stops your file is rarely the one that needs a better cutting edge. It is the one where the instrument is too wide and too stiff at the point the anatomy narrows. RECIPROC® Minima is Dentsply Sirona’s answer: the single-file reciprocating concept that has been in clinical use for over a decade, rebuilt with a thinner wire and a markedly lower taper, for narrow canals, severe curvature, MB2s and the calcified anatomy that turns a routine appointment into a long one.
Minimally invasive endodontics is the principle of keeping as much healthy tooth structure as the case allows. Whatever dentine survives is what the restoration ultimately relies on, and pericervical dentine matters most – which is exactly what a generously tapered file removes on its way to the apex. Shaping is only one part of that; it is the part where instrument geometry decides the outcome.
1 Slimmer by design
A thinner wire with a maximum flute diameter of 0.77 mm on the R20, the slimmest body in the range.
2 A variable taper
Apical taper steps down as the size goes up, and the average along the blade falls from 3.6% (R20) to 2.0% (R45): the apical size the case needs, without the coronal enlargement that usually comes with it.
3 The RECIPROC® S-section, now blue
The familiar S-shaped cross-section, with the post-grinding blue heat treatment from RECIPROC® blue for greater flexibility and fatigue resistance than non-heat-treated files.
4 A short 9.5 mm handle
A shorter shank for better access in posterior teeth, where mouth opening is usually the limiting factor.
Four sizes, one motion
R20, R25, R35 and R45 – colour-coded and all on the same reciprocating setting
Every size works with the same reciprocating motion, so there is nothing to change on the motor as you move up. Handles are colour-coded to the ISO standard: yellow R20, red R25, green R35, white R45. All files are supplied sterile in single-use blisters.
Find your size
Each instrument carries two taper figures. The apical taper shapes and carries irrigant; the average along the blade decides how much dentine leaves the coronal two thirds.
R20
ISO 020.008v
apical 8% · average 3.6%
Start here in narrow or challenging canals. The instructions say so, and it is the size with the published negotiation data behind it.
Also 21 mm · 31 mm
R25
ISO 025.008v
apical 8% · average 3.3%
Wider anatomy: the starting size is your clinical call. Best cutting ability of the two sizes in Dentsply’s laboratory testing.
Also 21 mm · 31 mm
R35
ISO 035.006v
apical 6% · average 2.6%
Apical enlargement when the case calls for it, at a 2.6% average taper that keeps the coronal dentine.
Also 21 mm · 31 mm
R45
ISO 045.005v
apical 5% · average 2.0%
The largest apical size in the range, and the lowest average taper: 2.0% over the length of the blade.
Also 21 mm · 31 mm
Assorted
2 × R20, 2 × R25,
1 × R35, 1 × R45
Not sure yet? The sequence the system is designed around, in one blister.
Also 21 mm · 31 mm
For narrow and challenging canals, the procedure should start with instrument size R20. In cases of wider canal anatomy, the selection of the initial instrument size is at the clinician’s discretion.
— RECIPROC® Minima instructions for use
v denotes a variable taper: steepest at the tip, easing off up the blade. On the pack and in the instructions the sizes print as 020.008v, 025.008v, 035.006v and 045.005v. Average tapers are as published by Dentsply Sirona; the maximum flute diameter of 0.77 mm is published for the R20 only.
Choosing a length
21 mm – short roots, and posterior teeth where mouth opening is the limit.
25 mm – the everyday length, and the one most practices stock first.
31 mm – canines, long-rooted premolars, and anything a 25 mm file leaves short of length.
The full range: every size and length
Six sterile, single-use files per blister. Click any cell to go straight to that product.
Starter bundles
Two blisters of your chosen size (12 files) with the matching ConformFit™ gutta-percha and paper points, in one order. Current bundle terms are on each product page.
R20: 21 mm · 25 mm · 31 mm
R25: 21 mm · 25 mm · 31 mm
R35: 21 mm · 25 mm · 31 mm
R45: 21 mm · 25 mm · 31 mm
Assorted: 21 mm · 25 mm · 31 mm
The technique, step by step
Condensed from the Dentsply Sirona RECIPROC® Minima Solution Guide. Always follow the full instructions for use.
The sequence: irrigate › R20 coronal segment › R20 middle segment › reconfirm working length › R20 apical segment
1. Look first. Review radiographs or CBCT images (if required) to assess canal anatomy, width and curvature, and to estimate length.
2. Access. Prepare an adequate access cavity and place NaOCl, or EDTA gel if the canals are narrow or calcified.
3. Select R20 and set the stopper at two thirds of the estimated length.
4. Peck. Introduce R20 to the orifice and start the motor there. Work with a slow in-and-out pecking motion, each peck no more than 3 mm, with very light pressure – never force it down the canal. After 3 pecks, remove, clean and inspect R20.
5. Irrigate and check patency with an ISO 010 or 008 hand instrument, taken 1–2 mm beyond the length reached.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until R20 reaches two thirds of the canal, then remove it.
7. Working length. With an integrated apex locator, repeat steps 4 and 5 until R20 reaches working length. Otherwise establish length with a 010 or 008 hand instrument and a tabletop locator, then reconfirm electronically with R20.
8. If R20 stops progressing, do not force it. Remove it and create a glide path (for example with R-PILOT®): confirm patency to length with a 008 or 010 instrument, then glide with very gentle, pressure-less pecks of no more than 3 mm, cleaning after every 3 pecks. Once the glide path is established, complete the preparation with R20 by repeating steps 4 and 5, and reconfirm length.
9. Apical preparation. If required, finish with a larger ISO-size RECIPROC® Minima, selected for the canal.
10. Disinfect. Always proceed with 3D disinfection protocols.
11. Dry and fill. Dry the canal with dedicated absorbent paper points, then obturate with dedicated gutta-percha points and sealer.
Your ace in the hole
If the file stops advancing at any point and RECIPROC® Minima cannot progress, Dentsply’s guidance is to use R-PILOT® to establish working length before finishing the shape with Minima.
Drive it: the three motors we stock
The instructions call for a dedicated Dentsply Sirona motor and contra-angle on RECIPROC® settings. All three motors we stock carry a RECIPROC® programme.
X-Smart® Go
Cordless endo motor with apex locator.
Shop the Go
X-Smart® Pro+
Endo motor with integrated apex locator.
Shop the Pro+
VDW.SILVER® RECIPROC®
Motor supplied with a 6:1 contra-angle.
Shop the SILVER
No model-by-model compatibility list is published for Minima. If you are unsure whether your own unit carries the RECIPROC® programme, email or call us before you order.
What the published evidence shows
All of the figures below are ex-vivo laboratory work on extracted teeth, not clinical trial data.
96.4%
of canals: R20 reached full working length with no prior scouting or glide path
83.6%
of canals: R25, under the same conditions
70.9%
of canals: RECIPROC® blue R25, the comparator
The study, published in the International Endodontic Journal (2026), used 330 mesial canals from extracted mandibular molars. No instrument fractured in any group, and where a larger file failed to reach length, R20 then reached it in roughly four cases out of five (Belladonna et al., doi:10.1111/iej.70228).
Two further peer-reviewed papers address the mechanics. Silva and colleagues (Dentistry Journal, 2026) compared the smaller Minima instruments with RECIPROC® blue R25 and reported the highest cyclic-fatigue resistance for the R20. Neto and colleagues (International Endodontic Journal, 2026, doi:10.1111/iej.70184) tested 441 instruments across seven reciprocating systems and found Minima had the longest time to fracture in cyclic fatigue, with comparable torsional resistance.
Only R20 and R25 were tested for canal negotiation. The larger sizes rest on their geometry. We would rather say so than quote figures measured on a different instrument.
“I have experienced the high efficiency of RECIPROC® Minima in very narrow canals firsthand, specifically regarding dentin preservation and the possibility to manage a warm vertical compaction obturation. The properties of the file really pay off.”
— Dr Marc Habib, endodontics specialist, Lebanon (Dentsply Sirona press release, 7 April 2026). Clinicians may have been compensated for use of their experiences and testimonials.
Family evidence: the RECIPROC® protocol
This one is about the RECIPROC® family and protocol, not Minima specifically. In a retrospective cohort study of 14,233 endodontically treated teeth with 5–10 year follow-up, root canal treatment using the RECIPROC® protocol showed a 30–40% higher survival rate of treated teeth and a 66% lower need for retreatment than shaping with rotary sequences or hand instruments (Elmaasarawi et al., Int Endod J 2025, doi:10.1111/iej.14271).
Matched obturation: sized to the file, filled to the shape
A Minima canal is a variable taper, so a constant-taper cone does not describe the shape you have actually cut.
ConformFit™ gutta-percha, 60 to a box
Absorbent paper points, 180 to a box
ConformFit™ gutta-percha is injection moulded to the shape the corresponding file leaves behind, for use in the single-cone technique: a snug apical fit and an honest tug back. Dentsply’s step 11 asks for dedicated absorbent paper points to dry the canal first. Both are sized to the file, not the length, so one set covers 21, 25 and 31 mm – and each is also boxed assorted. Several points dry a canal; one cone fills it.
Complete the case: shape, clean, fill
Everything below is in UK stock and links straight to its product page.
1
Shape
RECIPROC® Minima in the size and length the case needs, with R-PILOT® as your glide-path back-up.
2
Clean
Dentsply’s instructions call for abundant, frequent irrigation, with a Dentsply Sirona irrigation needle and/or the SmartLite Pro EndoActivator.
3
Fill
Dry with the matched paper points, fill with the matched cone, and seal with a premixed bioceramic sealer.
SmartLite Pro EndoActivator®
Sonic activation of the irrigant.
Shop now
Irrigation needles (40)
The Dentsply Sirona needle Minima’s IFU recommends.
Shop now
NeoSEALER® EZFlo
Premixed bioceramic with 29 ga tips that reach narrow canals.
Shop now
R-PILOT® 25 mm
The glide-path file for when Minima stalls.
Shop now
Where Minima sits beside RECIPROC® blue
They are companions, not successors. Dentsply position RECIPROC® blue for regular anatomies, wider canals and retreatment, with its established .08 regressive taper. Minima is for narrow and challenging canals – and the difference is not where you might assume. R20 and R25 carry the same .08 apical taper as blue R25, so they shape and carry irrigant apically in the same way. What changes is everything above that: blue holds a generous taper up the blade, while Minima gives the diameter back, averaging 2.0–3.6% over its length. If most of your list is routine, blue stays the everyday file and Minima is what you reach for when the anatomy argues back. Both run on the same reciprocating motion.
Questions we get asked
Do I still need a glide path?
Often not: that is the point of the system, and the published laboratory study supports it. But the instructions require one if the file stops progressing, along with a patency check using an ISO 010 or 008 hand instrument. “Frequently unnecessary” and “never necessary” are very different claims, and only one of them is true.
Which motor do I need?
A dedicated Dentsply Sirona motor and contra-angle on RECIPROC® settings, or by hand in severe curvatures. All three we stock are linked above: the X-Smart Go, the X-Smart Pro+ and the VDW.SILVER RECIPROC.
Can the files be reused?
No. They are supplied sterile in single-use blisters. With instruments this slim, single use is a meaningful part of the fracture-safety margin, not a commercial preference.
Are there any limits?
Like all machine-driven files, RECIPROC® Minima should not be used in a canal with an abrupt apical curvature, because of the heightened risk of separation. Use pre-curved hand files in the apical region instead. Use a rubber dam, and irrigate abundantly and frequently.
What should I fill with?
The matched consumables, and it matters more here than in most systems: ConformFit™ gutta-percha, dried first with the Minima paper points, then sealed with NeoSEALER® EZFlo.
Downloads
Instructions for use and safety documents are available on request from us, or from the Dentsply Sirona Download Center.
Not sure which size or length to start with?
Ask us. We stock the full range and can help you pick a first order.
RECIPROC® Minima · reciprocating single-file system · R20, R25, R35 and R45 · 21, 25 and 31 mm · blue heat-treated NiTi · S-shaped cross-section · 9.5 mm handle · sterile, single use · Dentsply Sirona – Maillefer Instruments Holding Sàrl, Ballaigues, Switzerland · RX only, for professional dental use · UK stock at Q.E.D
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