Current trends in technological armamentarium and treatment among Brazilian endodontists

Abstract

Aim:To determine the current trends in technological armamentarium and endodontic treatment among Brazilian endodontists. Methods: A total of 279 endodontists answered a web-based survey questionnaire about their region of activity in Brazil and years as a specialist, average number of endodontic cases treated per month, number of visits to complete the treatment, use of rubber dam for isolation, type of irrigant, obturation technique and device used for this purpose, temporary filling materials, and greater difficulty encountered during treatment and technological armamentarium. A descriptive analysis, expressed in terms of frequency and percentage, was performed and the data were correlated using the chi-square test (p<0.05). Results: Most of the respondents had up to 10 years as specialists. More than 50% of endodontists preferred to complete the endodontic treatment in a single visit. Ninety-nine percent of endodontists used rubber dam for isolation. NaOCl was the most widely used irrigant. Most of the respondents associated different techniques for root canal filling. Lateral condensation and Continuous wave of condensation were the isolated technique most reported. Filling devices (thermocompactors) were used by 53% of endodontists. Glass ionomer was the preferred temporary filling material. The answers for the use of technological armamentarium revealing that 94% of endodontists used an apex locator; 67.38% utilized magnification (loupe: 23.66%; microscope: 35.48%; microscope and loupe: 8.24%); 58% reported to digital radiography; and 47.31% used computed tomography as a complementary tool. About mechanized instrumentation, 44.44% endodontists employed rotary and reciprocating files. The difficulties encountered during endodontic treatment were classified as preparation > access > obturation > anesthesia > isolation. Conclusions: Most endodontists have implemented new technologies, such as mechanical instrumentation, apex locators, magnification, digital radiography, computed tomography, ultrasound, and obturation tools, in their clinical practice.

Modalities of using endodontic nickel-titanium rotary instruments and factors influencing their implementation in dental practice

“…With a greater number of cases performed per week, saving time by using NiTi-RIs is paramount, as they significantly reduce instrumentation times [ 21 ]. A very recent study found that dentists performed significantly greater number of RCTs when using NiTi-RIs compared to manual preparation [ 32 ]. The highest proportion of respondents (45.3%), in the current study, used NiTi-RIs because of faster root-canal preparation .…”

“…The vast majority of dentists (85%), in the current study, did not use NiTi-RIs because of high cost. Also, most dentists in Wales (62%) reported high cost for not using RIs [ 32 ]. Such a factor may reflect the real willingness of these dentists to use NiTi-RIs.…”

Magnification in endodontics: A review of its application and acceptance among dental practitioners

“…Besides, other studies that reported the prevalence of use of magnification devices are shown in Table 2 . [ 7 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ]…”

The Use of Magnifying Loupes among Dental Professionals

“…A study determined the latest trends in technological armamentarium in endodontic treatment among Brazilian endodontists revealed that 67.38% of endodontists utilized magnification tools in which 23.66% of them use magnifying loupes in their practices. 9 Wong et al have compared the time needed for performing non-surgical endodontic therapy with or without a magnifying loupe. Ninety-six patients, who required non-surgical root canal treatment, were treated by two dentists from the University of Hong Kong and two dentists from Peking University.…”