Assessment of the Current Endodontic Practices among General Dental Practitioners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

A contemporary knowledge of root canal treatment (RCT) is a prerequisite for a successful outcome. Studies observed that General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) were not abreast of current endodontic knowledge due to a lack of continuing dental education, not following the treatment protocols that they had learned in their undergraduate program, and overlooking the evidence-based current endodontic practices. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the awareness, attitude, and clinical endodontic practices among General Dental Practitioners in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among all 312 GDPs working in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic details and 23 questions regarding current endodontic practices. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Version 21 (Chicago, IL, USA). The chi-square test was applied to explore the influence of gender, workplace, and the years of professional activity on the materials and techniques employed in the RCT procedure. The study results showed that of all respondents, 159(51.0%) were males, 153(49.0%) were females, and 286(91.7%) were Saudi nationals. Most of the GDPs, i.e., 204(65.4%) practiced in private hospitals or clinics whereas 108(34.6%) practiced in Government hospitals. Root canal treatment on all teeth had been performed by 196(62%) of the practitioners. Association of gender with demographic details and endodontic practices revealed a statistically significant difference between both genders with respect to region, nationality, type of RCT treated on the tooth, and the technique used to measure the working length (p < 0.05). Furthermore, years of professional experience and workplace significantly affect endodontic practices (p < 0.05). This study concluded that most of the general dental practitioners complied with quality standard guidelines showing a positive attitude toward endodontic practices. Furthermore, irrespective of gender, most of the steps in endodontic procedures revealed a significant association with years of professional experience and the workplace.

General trends in irrigation practice during endodontic treatment among general dental practitioners in Malaysia.

“…They aim to activate irrigants chemically and mechanically thereby improving their antimicrobial and tissue-dissolving e ciency and enhancing the irrigant's penetration into the complex root canal anatomy including lateral ns by displacing the apical 'vapour lock' effect [3,14,28]. 40.1% of the respondents from our study used manual dynamic agitation which is encouraging as it is a simple and cost-effective method proven to be more effective than static needle-and-syringe irrigation [29]. In the absence of more advanced adjunct techniques, it is strongly recommended that clinicians incorporate this technique into their nal irrigation protocol.…”

Online Questionnaire-Based Study to Evaluate the Attitudes and Use of Rubber Dental Dams by Saudi Dental Practitioners

“…Additionally, a study conducted by Nezar in 2021 showed a reasonably good usage rate (71%) of rubber dams among the study participants [ 13 ]. Jouhar et al found most participants used rubber dams (74.0%) [ 2 ]. This contrasted our study findings, which showed a very low usage (22.66%) of rubber dams by dental practitioners.…”

“…The primary objective in endodontics is the elimination of microorganisms infecting the root canal system. This requires rigorous aseptic protocols and isolation of saliva, blood, and other gingival fluids [ 2 ].…”

“…Many studies have also been performed in Saudi Arabia [ 6 , 14 – 17 ]. Jouhar et al in 2022 recommended the usage of rubber dams during all endodontic procedures for better clarity and reducing the risk of aspiration of instruments [ 2 ]. Also, Abuzeneda et al reported that 86.4% of students believed that restorations performed with a rubber dam have a longer lifespan than those placed without one [ 17 ].…”

Exploring the Most Effective Apical Seal for Contemporary Bioceramic and Conventional Endodontic Sealers Using Three Obturation Techniques

“…In terms of the small differences, we observed that the CWC technique provided the lowest microleakage values whereas the highest microleakage levels were recorded with the SC technique using BC-coated GP. Previous studies have reported that warm compaction techniques adversely affect the sealing ability of calcium silicate sealers as heat negatively affects flow, setting time and residual moisture content in canals and dentinal tubules [ 7 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Contrary to these findings, other authors have reported favorable results when using the CWC technique and calcium silicate sealers.…”