Patient satisfaction with root canal treatment and outcomes in the Swedish public dental health service: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Aim To document satisfaction with root canal treatment procedures and outcomes among patients treated at Swedish public dental clinics. Method The original material comprised 243 patients who began root canal treatment (RCT) at 20 public dental clinics in the county of Västra Götaland, Sweden. One to three years later, 236 (97.1%) were posted a questionnaire of eight items, rating patient perceptions of RCT completion, present pain intensity and satisfaction with the RCT. To evaluate the reliability of the original responses, the first 50 respondents were mailed a follow‐up questionnaire. Both descriptive and analytical statistics were used to compare respondents and nonrespondents and tooth groups. Results One hundred and fifty‐nine patients (67.4%) responded: 86 (54.1%) women and 73 (45.9%) men. The mean age 52.5 years, was higher than for nonrespondents (p < .001). A completed root filling was registered for the majority of the teeth (n = 112, 70.9%), but significantly fewer molars had been completed (n = 46, 59.7%, p = .02). Fifty per cent (n = 59) of the patients reported current pain, mostly mild in intensity (n = 45, 38.1%). One hundred and twenty‐three patients (80.9%) recalled experiencing pain during RCT. The highest satisfaction was registered for the item ‘chewing ability’ (mean = 1.6, SD = 1.9). The majority of patients (n = 114, 75.0%) stated that in retrospect they would still have chosen RCT. However, these patients belonged to the group which either registered the tooth as still present or had not experienced much discomfort during or after RCT. Forty‐four patients (88.0%) responded to the second questionnaire. The reliability of the responses was good. In summary, one to 3 years after beginning RCT at a public dental clinic, patient satisfaction was high, even though every fourth molar had been extracted or treatment had not been completed and half the patients reported persistent pain. The reliability of the patients’ responses was considered to be good. Conclusions The results indicate a need for further clinical observational studies of RCTs undertaken in general dental practice, with special reference to patient‐centred outcomes.

Patient record assessment of results and related resources spent during 1 year after initiation of root canal treatment in a Swedish public dental organization

“…This study presents a 1‐year detailed follow‐up after initiation of endodontic therapy based on patient records. Patient satisfaction with root canal treatment has also been studied based on a patient‐focused questionnaire (Wigsten et al, 2021)…”

“…In a previous study (Wigsten et al, 2021), the patients' perceptions of their treatment were examined. One to 3 years after starting RCT, patient satisfaction was generally ranked as high, despite the loss or incomplete treatment of 30% of the teeth and reports of present pain by half the patients.…”

“…This study presents a 1-year detailed follow-up after initiation of endodontic therapy based on patient records. Patient satisfaction with root canal treatment has also been studied based on a patient-focused questionnaire (Wigsten et al, 2021) Baseline In the multivariable analysis, completed RCT remained less frequent amongst molars (OR = 0.30, p = .012) compared to the reference, incisors (Table 2). Again, teeth with major substance loss were less frequently root filled than more intact teeth (OR = 0.56, p = .010).…”

“…In a patient-focused follow-up questionnaire to our cohort of 243 patients, approximately 50% of those whose RCT had been completed were still experiencing pain after 1-3 years. However, most patients were highly satisfied with their decision to try to preserve their natural dentition, even though greater than one in four molars had been extracted, or RCT had not yet been completed (Wigsten et al, 2021).…”

The outcome of single-visit nonsurgical retreatment and patients’ perception of retreatment: a retrospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up

“…Not the quality of dental care, but how the patient perceives the dental care can be assessed, and in general, patients are satisfied with the outcome of root canal treatment (28,29). A recent study showed that patients who underwent nonsurgical retreatment reported significant time loss from work but lower physical and psycho-social disability during the recovery phase in comparison to apical surgery (30).…”