Altuwalah Ahmed
Department of Restorative and Prosthodontic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Sep 27;16(9):e70348. doi: 10.7759/cureus.70348. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Root canal treatment in several regions of Saudi Arabia is commonly administered by general dental practitioners (GDPs) rather than specialized endodontists. The study aimed to compare the endodontic practices and preferences of general dental practitioners with those of endodontists and restorative specialists. A structured questionnaire including 23 questions focussing on fundamental principles and techniques used in contemporary root canal treatment was distributed online to 600 dentists who perform root canal treatments and are registered with the Saudi Dental Society (SDS). Data were gathered for basic demographic and professional details, practices, and preferences in endodontic materials and methods. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). For selected variables, frequency distributions and 95% confidence interval for sample proportions were measured. Associations between categorical variables were examined using cross-tabulation, with statistical significance assessed by the chi-square test of homogeneity or Fisher's exact test when necessary. The survey, with a 59% response rate primarily from participants aged 24-34 years (94.1%) with one to five years of experience (90.4%), revealed that most GDPs referred root canal treatment (RCT) cases due to lack of skills (82.8%), performed restorability assessments (90.9%), preferred Cavit for tooth buildup (87%), consistently used rubber dam isolation (91.5%), treated mainly anterior teeth (91.2%) without magnification (87.9%), used electronic apex locators for working length determination (63.3%), favored stainless steel K files and single cone obturation, while specialists exhibited wider clinical experience, more frequent use of advanced techniques, and higher usage of intracanal medicaments (91.7%) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as irrigant (70.8%). The study provides valuable insights into the endodontic preferences and practices of dentists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, revealing significant differences between general dental practitioners and specialists. The findings highlight critical areas for improvement, such as the need for enhanced training in endodontic skills and better access to modern materials and equipment.
在沙特阿拉伯的几个地区，根管治疗通常由普通牙科医生（GDPs）而非专业牙髓病医生进行。该研究旨在比较普通牙科医生与牙髓病医生及修复专科医生在牙髓治疗方面的做法和偏好。一份包含23个问题的结构化问卷被在线分发给600名进行根管治疗且在沙特牙科协会（SDS）注册的牙医，这些问题聚焦于当代根管治疗中使用的基本原理和技术。收集了基本人口统计学和专业细节、做法以及对牙髓材料和方法的偏好等数据。使用SPSS 21版（纽约州阿蒙克：IBM公司）对收集到的数据进行分析。对于选定变量，测量了频率分布和样本比例的95%置信区间。使用交叉表检查分类变量之间的关联，必要时通过卡方同质性检验或费舍尔精确检验评估统计显著性。该调查的回复率为59%，主要来自年龄在24 - 34岁（94.1%）、有1至5年经验（90.4%）的参与者，结果显示，大多数普通牙科医生因缺乏技能（82.8%）而转诊根管治疗（RCT）病例，进行修复性评估（90.9%），在牙齿充填时更喜欢使用Cavit（87%），始终使用橡皮障隔离（91.5%），主要治疗前牙（91.2%）且不使用放大设备（87.9%），使用电子根尖定位仪确定工作长度（63.3%），青睐不锈钢K锉和单锥充填，而专科医生则展现出更丰富的临床经验，更频繁地使用先进技术，以及更高比例地使用根管内药物（91.7%）和乙二胺四乙酸（EDTA）作为冲洗剂（70.8%）。该研究为沙特阿拉伯王国牙医的牙髓治疗偏好和做法提供了有价值的见解，揭示了普通牙科医生和专科医生之间的显著差异。研究结果突出了需要改进的关键领域，比如在牙髓治疗技能方面加强培训的必要性，以及更好地获取现代材料和设备。
