Quality of endodontic record-keeping and root canal obturation performed by final year undergraduate dental students: An audit during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background To assess the quality of endodontic record-keeping and root canal obturation performed by undergraduate final year dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods Dental records and dental radiographs of patients who received endodontic treatments between March 2020 and March 2022 by undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic were included. The audit data were collected based on the European Society of Endodontology guidelines retrospectively via assessing the patient’s clinical records and intraoral periapical radiograph. Root canal obturation quality was evaluated based on the following parameters: adaptation, length, taper, and mishap. A root filling is defined as satisfactory only when all four parameters were graded as acceptable. Subsequently, the data were recorded and analysed using Chi-Square test with the level of significance set at p = 0.05. Results A total of 111 patient records with 111 root canal-treated teeth were evaluated. The highest percentage of documented evidence was noted in the patient’s general records, while the endodontic treatment records showed the lowest percentage of documented evidence. 78 (70.3%) of root canal-treated teeth were deemed satisfactory with acceptable adaptation, length, taper, and absence of mishap. Moreover, no statistical significance in terms of root canal filling quality was noted between anterior and posterior teeth, and between maxillary and mandibular arch. Conclusions Although patient records and root canal fillings quality were deemed satisfactory in most cases, strict documentation requirements and continuing dental education in audit training are necessary for quality assurance.

Evaluation of Students' Proficiency in Removing Gutta-Percha Prior to Fiber Post Placement: A Retrospective Study

“…This observation is consistent with some of the previous studies [ 2 , 13 ]. Different order was observed in other studies where premolars were the most restored teeth followed by anteriors [ 3 , 5 , 15 ]. Few cases in this study showed insufficient apical seal (<3 mm), and they were mainly found in the anterior and premolars.…”

“…One of the most common clinical procedures that general dentists can perform daily is post-preparation [ 3 ]. An effective apical seal is important to obtain a successful endodontic treatment, and it is crucial to remain intact during post space preparation.…”

“…A study performed by Meshni et al [ 12 ] showed similar results, and the remaining GP was 3-5 mm in 55% and >5 mm in 29% of the treated cases. Other studies reported more than two-thirds of the cases achieved suboptimum (>5 mm), while around one-third showed optimal measurments (3-5 mm) of remaining apical GP [ 2 , 3 , 13 ]. These differences could be related to sample heterogenecity between the studies, including type of teeth included and students' academic levels.…”

“…Moreover, the complexity of the root anatomy of posterior teeth could affect placement of posts due to tapering of root canals and severe curvatures, as reported in several studies [ 5 , 7 , 19 ]. Therefore, dentists tend to cut the GP before reaching the curvature to reduce the risk of perforations and stripping [ 3 ]. This explains the findings of this study, which showed that remaining GP less than 3 mm was observed in only two molars compared with other types of teeth in this study.…”

“…A few studies have assessed the length of the remaining GP after post placement [ 3 - 5 , 10 ]. However, no studies have evaluated student performance in this procedure using maxillary and mandibular teeth across different types of teeth.…”