Prevalence of Chronic Apical Periodontitis Among Patients Referred to the Department of Endodontics at the Kermanshah School of Dentistry (2014–2015)

Abstract

Since the discovery of the high prevalence of chronic apical periodontitis in many countries as an important risk factor for public health, numerous epidemiologic studies have been conducted to analyze its prevalence and the factors associated with it [1][2][3][4]. Generally, it has been accepted that the result of endodontic treatment is positively associated with the quality of root canal filling techniques, which consequently leads to sealing and preventing the penetration of bacteria into the root canal system. Epidemiologic studies have associated the prevalence of apical periodon- AbstractBackground. A lot of research has been done on the prevalence of apical periodontitis in different populations, but there is no data on its prevalence in Iranian population, so there is not enough data about this condition and the factors associated with it. Objectives. The current study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of chronic apical periodontitis among the patients visiting the Department of Endodontics at the Kermanshah School of Dentistry. Material and Methods. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 595 patients (252 men and 343 women) who were referred to the Kermanshah School of Dentistry in 2014-2015. First, the patients' demographic data was taken using a checklist. Then, an OPG x-ray of each patient was observed carefully and the location of chronic apical periodontitis in the jaws, the history of endodontic treatment, the presence of dental post, adequate and inadequate restorations and periapical index (PAI) were recorded on a checklist. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS-18 software.Results. The prevalence of chronic apical periodontitis was reported to be 4.4%, which increased with age. It was higher in men than in women. The most common site of apical periodontitis was the maxilla and the highest incidence was reported for posterior teeth. Conclusions.The findings of the current study indicate a high prevalence of chronic apical periodontitis due to the presence of post and a history of inadequate root canal treatment (Dent. Med. Probl. 2016, 53, 4, 496-500).