honestly, I replace my tips when i dont hear the loud popping I expext to hear at 5+ watts…I know thats kinda anecdotal but it seems to work..they last alot more than three patients and they would need to come down alot in price for me to do it that way…im sure an inefficient tip contributes to heat buildup and also maybe a difficulty in anaesthetizing patients( if less enrgy is reaching the tip that would make sense to me)

Can’t recall being advised when to replace tips.

I use G6 tapered sapphire 750-600 micron tips. Estimate they ablate efficiently for 36 to 48 hard tissue procedures.

Certainly possible that a damaged tip could cause a back up of energy which might damage the trunk fiber. If the cost of the tip could be made reasonable, I would prefer to have a single-use disposable tip for every patient.

Al