Incidence and quality of root canal fillings in undergraduate dental students

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of endodontic treatment and the quality of root canal fillings in Brazilian undergraduate dental students. The study was similar those conducted 10, 20, 30, and 40 years earlier. Methods: A total of 407 undergraduate dental students were evaluated by using questionnaires to identify endodontic treatments, with each treatment being radiographed for the analysis of the presence of a periapical radiolucency and the quality of the root canal filling. Results: Forty root canal fillings were found: 32 (80%) completely filled, seven (17.5%) incompletely filled, and one (2.5%) overfilled. Conclusion: This study showed a low prevalence of endodontic treatment in dentistry students, and the evaluated root canals that were filled were high quality, with few cases suggesting periapical lesions.

Keywords

• dental students
• endodontics
• endodontic treatment
• root canal filling
• radiography