Attitudes of dentists regarding the restoration of root canal treated teeth: a survey in Greece.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate attitudes of Greek dentists regarding the restoration of root canal treated (RCT) teeth and to compare them to recommended guidelines. Additionally, to examine relationships between degree of dentists' professional experience or region of practice location and attitudes of restoring RCT teeth.

METHOD

Data were collected from 302 dentists using a structured self-administered questionnaire. For each dentist a score was assigned reflecting the level of compliance with scientific recommendations for restoration of RCT teeth.

RESULTS

89.4% of the respondents reported that not every RCT tooth requires a post while the 46.4% stated that a post reinforces it. 76.2% of the participants believed that the ferrule design provides a reinforcement to RCT teeth. Dentists with 6-20 years of experience showed a higher level of compliance with the principles in the literature than their colleagues with less or more years of practising. No significant difference was detected between dentists practising in urban and rural areas.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of Greek dentists had knowledge in accordance with recommended guidelines, except the aspect of the reinforcement effect by the post. In contrast to the region of practice location, the degree of professional experience influenced the restoration of root-treated teeth.