Although studies show the operating microscope (OM) provides benefits for endodontists, the benefit to undergraduates has not been evaluated as completely as for specialists. The purpose of this study was to determine whether using the OM would improve students' performance in endodontic access cavity preparation and canal identification. Thirty-six dental students prepared access cavities and located canals in extracted maxillary molars, before and after training, which varied according to group. The standard group received a lecture and practice in preparation of access cavities. The microscope group received identical instruction using the OM. The control group received lectures only. All groups received equal content and instruction time (2 hr 20 min). Faculty graded preparations according to a multidimensional 5-point rating scale. Using the OM, the microscope group improved significantly in access cavity preparation (p <0.05) and significantly outperformed both standard and control groups in accuracy of identifying canals (p <0.05).
The results show that the deformation pattern of restored teeth is material-specific but the extent of deformation is primarily limited by the remaining tooth substance.
Symptomatic teeth with morphological aberrations can be saved by root-canal treatment. Careful clinical and radiographic evaluation are essential, as treatment must be modified to address the unusual complexities of the root-canal system(s).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.