It has a flame-shaped cutting point mounted on a long thin shaft attached to a latch type shank. Due to its design, Gate glidden drills are the side-cutting instrument with safety tips., Gates Glidden Drills enlarge the upper portion of the canal for bulk removal of tooth structure. Instrument size can be easily identified by the number of grooves on each instrument. Used to reduce the curvature in the orifice of the canal, allowing greater access to the canal for post space preparation and retreatment cases.