Evaluation of Canal Deviation in Endodontically Treated Teeth by Mashhad Dental Students from April 2012 till April 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the deviation of root canal path in endodontically treated teeth by Mashhad dental students from April 2012 till April 2013. A total of 400 records from 895 dental patient records archived in dental school endodontic department between April 2012 and April 2013 were evaluated by two endodontic staffs. The radiographs were then examined for existence of ledge and deviation of apical foramen using a lens with magnification of X2 and an X-ray viewer. Finally, the results were analyzed using SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and chi-square test (α=0.05). Ledge was observed in 25.1% of maxillary and 23.3% of mandibullar teeth that the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.674). Also there was no difference in the distribution of ledge among anterior, premolar, and molar teeth (P=0.996). Apical foramen deviation was seen in 12.6% of maxillary and 23.8% of mandibullar teeth and the difference was significant (P=0.003). This finding was significantly greater in molar teeth (29%) compared to 7.3% in anterior teeth and 9.6% in premolars (P=0.000). Apical foramen deviation was significantly greater in teeth treated by 5th year student (P=0.019). The canal deviation rate in teeth treated by dental students was 42.3%. By increasing the practice of root canal treatment by dental students on extracted teeth and greater emphasis on crown down and modified passive step back filing methods, this rate could be minimized.