The success of endodontic treatment in general dental practice: a retrospective clinical and radiographic study.

PURPOSE

To assess the success of orthograde endodontic treatment carried out by a group of general dental practitioners over a 15-year period.

POPULATION STUDIED

Patients presenting for their annual dental inspection at a large Air Force station in the UK over a six-month period. All teeth root-filled by Royal Air Force dental practitioners were assessed.

METHOD

Clinical and, where appropriate, radiographic review was undertaken of all root-filled teeth present at inspection. Root-filled teeth removed prior to inspection were included in the study only if extraction was related to failure of the root filling. Root fillings were classified as 'definitely successful', 'probably successful' or 'failed'. The effect on success of several variables was investigated.

FINDINGS

There was a total of 136 root-filled teeth, of which 59% (n=80) were classified as 'definitely successful', 26% (n=35) as 'probably successful', and 15% (n=21) as failures. Of the variables studied, only time elapsed since root-filling placement had a statistically significant effect on treatment results with a downward trend in rate of failure with time (P=0.0268).

CONCLUSIONS

An overall success rate of 85% was found for this sample of root fillings comparing well with the success rates for root fillings placed by specialists. However, there may be significant differences in the relative importance of clinical variables depending on the experience of the operator. There are few reliable indicators of the likely prognosis for the root filling, questioning the automatic replacement of poor technical quality, but asymptomatic root fillings.