Abstract: A bone screw assembly including a bone screw that has a head portion with a base, a pair of arms extending upwardly from the base, and an internally threaded slot defined by the pair of arms, and a screw portion extending downwardly from the base of the head portion. The assembly further includes a set screw having a body with a threaded outer surface and a distal tip, wherein the distal tip comprises a truncated taper portion extending from a base to generally flat distal end. The threaded outer surface of the set screw is engageable within the internally threaded slot of the head portion of the bone screw.