Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dentistry (Sep 2024)
A Comparative Analysis of the Quality of Root Canal Fillings of In Vivo Studies Conducted in Saudi Arabia and Worldwide: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Abdulmajeed Saeed Alshahrani,1 Ahmed Ali Alelyani,1 Sadun Mohammad Al Ageel Albeaji,2 Dalia AlHarith,3 Ahmed Abdullah A Al Malwi,4 Abdulrahman Abdullah Aldhbaan,5 Khaled Saleh J Alshehri,6 Alwaleed Essam Bakri,7 Abdullah Ahmed Ali Sahli,8 Wafa Hassan Alaajam,9,10 Mohammed M Al Moaleem11 1Department of Restorative Dentistry, Division of Endodontics, College of Dentistry, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia; 2Consultant Endodontics, Dental Center, Hafar al Batin, Ministry of Health, Hafar al Batin, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Restorative Dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Restorative Dentistry, Division of Endodontics, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 5Consultant of Endodontic, Endodontic Department, Aseer Specialized Dental Center, Ministry of Health, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 6Consultant of Endodontic, Endodontic Department, Khamis Mushait Dental Center, Ministry of Health, Aseer, Saudi Arabia; 7General Practitioner, Specialized Dental Center, Ministry of Health, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 8General Practitioner, Al-Kharish Primary Health Care Center, Ministry of Health, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Restorative Dental Science, Division of Endodontics, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 10Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen; 11Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Ahmed Ali Alelyani, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Division of Endodontics, College of Dentistry, Najran University, Najran, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected] Mohammed M Al Moaleem, Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Root canal treatment (RCT) is a common procedure practiced daily by dentists worldwide. The current systematic review aimed to evaluate and compare clinical studies on the quality of root canal fillings (RCFs) carried out by dentists with different levels of experience conducted worldwide with those conducted specifically in Saudi Arabia (SA).Materials and Methods: A full literature search was conducted in Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, Elsevier’s Scopus, Embase, CINHAL, and PubMed, without a restriction to studies published before January 2015. Also, a manual search was carried out by checking papers that may have been missed during the electronic search. The following keywords were used: [(quality of root canal filling(s)) OR (quality of root canal obturation)) and dental practitioners as (general dental practitioners; final year students; endodontist; specialist) AND (root canal obturation) OR (endodontic treatment)]. Parameters of the quality of RCFs, such as length, density, and taper, were assessed and counted.Results: A total of 13 worldwide and nine SA studies were included in this review, published between 2015 and 2023. Molars were the most treated teeth, at 42.3% and 40.2% for the worldwide and SA studies, respectively. Cases treated by final year students had the highest percentage, at 60.0% for both study groups. The percentages of acceptable quality, with regard to the length, density, and taper of RCFs, were 70.9%, 77.6%, and 84.3%, and 73.2%, 64.6%, and 67.8% for the worldwide and SA studies, respectively.Conclusion: The overall acceptable quality of RCFs was marginally higher in worldwide studies than in SA studies. Both prevalences can be considered as good, which indicates that the quality of RCFs is moving in the right direction.Keywords: root canal filling, quality, obturation, Saudi Arabia, clinical studies, procedural errors
