International Journal of Oral Science (Mar 2024)

Expert consensus on difficulty assessment of endodontic therapy

  • Dingming Huang,
  • Xiaoyan Wang,
  • Jingping Liang,
  • Junqi Ling,
  • Zhuan Bian,
  • Qing Yu,
  • Benxiang Hou,
  • Xinmei Chen,
  • Jiyao Li,
  • Ling Ye,
  • Lei Cheng,
  • Xin Xu,
  • Tao Hu,
  • Hongkun Wu,
  • Bin Guo,
  • Qin Su,
  • Zhi Chen,
  • Lihong Qiu,
  • Wenxia Chen,
  • Xi Wei,
  • Zhengwei Huang,
  • Jinhua Yu,
  • Zhengmei Lin,
  • Qi Zhang,
  • Deqin Yang,
  • Jin Zhao,
  • Shuang Pan,
  • Jian Yang,
  • Jiayuan Wu,
  • Yihuai Pan,
  • Xiaoli Xie,
  • Shuli Deng,
  • Xiaojing Huang,
  • Lan Zhang,
  • Lin Yue,
  • Xuedong Zhou

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41368-024-00285-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Endodontic diseases are a kind of chronic infectious oral disease. Common endodontic treatment concepts are based on the removal of inflamed or necrotic pulp tissue and the replacement by gutta-percha. However, it is very essential for endodontic treatment to debride the root canal system and prevent the root canal system from bacterial reinfection after root canal therapy (RCT). Recent research, encompassing bacterial etiology and advanced imaging techniques, contributes to our understanding of the root canal system’s anatomy intricacies and the technique sensitivity of RCT. Success in RCT hinges on factors like patients, infection severity, root canal anatomy, and treatment techniques. Therefore, improving disease management is a key issue to combat endodontic diseases and cure periapical lesions. The clinical difficulty assessment system of RCT is established based on patient conditions, tooth conditions, root canal configuration, and root canal needing retreatment, and emphasizes pre-treatment risk assessment for optimal outcomes. The findings suggest that the presence of risk factors may correlate with the challenge of achieving the high standard required for RCT. These insights contribute not only to improve education but also aid practitioners in treatment planning and referral decision-making within the field of endodontics.