Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 60, Issue 2, March–April 2015, Page 87
Dental Abstracts

Hands On
Adequacy of endodontic therapy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2015.01.019Get rights and content

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Background

The Air Force Dental Corps has developed a standardized way to identify dental needs, provide dental treatment, and handle patients whose treatment does not meet minimum Air Force Treatment Standards. Incoming trainees’ dental condition is evaluated so that Air Force personnel can gather information to plan for needs and interventions. These same data could inform teaching institutions, dental associations, public health organizations and dental practitioners about the general state of dental

Methods

All incoming basic trainees (BMTs) in 2011 had panoramic radiographs taken, then these 32,811 panoramic images (990,120 teeth) were evaluated. Teeth with RCT, the quality of RCT, and the presence of periradicular pathology were noted.

Results

Ten percent of the BMTs had RCT and 5.3% required RCT. Overall, 9.5% of BMTs needed some type of treatment to meet minimum Air Force Treatment Standards.

Focusing on posterior teeth, 7.2% of the BMTs had RCT of at least one tooth. Adequate treatment was present in 68.9% of the cases, with adequate cuspal coverage present in 51.5% of the posterior teeth. Only 37% of the BMTs had both adequate treatment and adequate cuspal coverage.

No pathology was present in 75.5% of the posterior teeth with RCT.

Discussion

Based on these data, the most effective RCTs are not being applied to all young adults in the United States. Quality of endodontic therapy is related more strongly to an absence of pathology than to type or quality of the restoration.

Clinical Significance

The literature identifies several factors associated with successful dental treatment. However, several of these are lacking in the endodontic treatment of young adults in the United States. As a result, many have had inadequate endodontic

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Winward BJ, Yaccino JM, Kirkpatrick TC: A panoramic survey of Air Force basic trainees: How research translates into clinical practice. J Endod 40:1332-1337, 2014

Reprints available from BJ Winward, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Ctr, 59th Dental Training Squadron/SGDTN, 2133 Pepperrell St, Lackland AFB, TX 78236; e-mail: [email protected]

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