ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,440,307, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to Dentsply Sirona Inc. (York, Pa.).
"Apex locator attachment" was invented by Silvio Langbein (Finsing, Germany) and Reinhold Storch (Freiburg, Germany).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apex locator attachment for connection to an apex locator for measurement of the position of the length of a root canal during endodontic treatment. A shape, structure and dimensions of the attachment are configured to maximize the ease of use of the attachment and to enable mechanical and electrical coupling of a dental instrument to an apex locator while allowing the apex locator attachment to be easily cleaned,...