Technical quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students using hand instrumentation: a meta‐analysis

Abstract

Ribeiro DM, R eus JC, Felippe WT, Pacheco-Pereira C, Dutra KL, Santos JN, Porporatti AL, De Luca Canto G. Technical quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students using hand instrumentation: a metaanalysis. International Endodontic Journal, 51, 269-283, 2018.The technical quality of root canal treatment (RCT) may impact on the outcome. The quality of education received during undergraduate school may be linked to the quality of treatment provided in general dental practice. In this context, the aim of this systematic review was to answer the following focused questions: (i) What is the frequency of acceptable technical quality of root fillings, assessed radiographically, performed by undergraduate students? (ii) What are the most common errors assessed radiographically and reported in these treatments? For this purpose, articles that evaluated the quality of root fillings performed by undergraduate students were selected. Data were collected based on predetermined criteria. The key features from the included studies were extracted. GRADE-tool assessed the quality of the evidence. MAStARI evaluated the methodological quality, and a meta-analysis on all studies was conducted. At the end of the screening, 24 articles were identified. Overall frequency of acceptable technical quality of root fillings was 48%. From this total, 52% related to anterior teeth, 49% to premolars and 26% to molars. The main procedural errors reported were ledge formation, furcation perforation, apical transportation and apical perforation. The heterogeneity amongst the studies was high (84-99%). Five studies had a high risk of bias, eight had a moderate risk, and 11 had low risk. The overall quality of evidence identified was very low. The conclusion was that technical quality of root fillings performed by undergraduate students is low, which may reveal that endodontic education has limited achievement at undergraduate level. A plan to improve the quality of root fillings, and by extrapolation the overall quality of root canal treatment, should be discussed by the staff responsible for endodontic education and training.

Self‐perceived preparedness of final year dental students in a developing country—A multi‐institution study

“…Students felt least prepared to undertake endodontics in multirooted teeth and providing crowns. Deficiencies in endodontic skills of undergraduate students have been reported previously . Moreover, the students also felt underprepared in the provision of partial dentures.…”

“…Deficiencies in endodontic skills of undergraduate students have been reported previously. 12,21,22 Moreover, the students also felt underprepared in the provision of partial dentures. These findings may be attributed to lack of adequate experience in the design and delivery of cast partial dentures.…”

Dental Imaging – A basic guide for the radiologist

“…A filling that ends 0 -2 mm from the anatomical apex and is wall-tight and continuous is considered adequate (▶ Fig. 3a) [26]. Treatment complications include too short filling of the root (▶ Fig.…”

Pre‐clinical endodontic education outcomes between artificial versus extracted natural teeth: a systematic review

“…The overall technical proficiency of RCT performed by undergraduate students is obviously low (Ribeiro et al . ), with less than 50% of root filling being of acceptable quality (Lynch & Burke , Roman‐Richon et al . ).…”

“…The success of root canal treatment (RCT) is related to the technical quality of the root filling (Kirkevang et al 2014). The overall technical proficiency of RCT performed by undergraduate students is obviously low (Ribeiro et al 2018), with less than 50% of root filling being of acceptable quality (Lynch & Burke 2006, Roman-Richon et al 2014. These inadequately treated teeth commonly feature iatrogenic errors such as ledges, perforations and apical transportation (Lynch & Burke 2006, Roman-Richon et al 2014).…”