Determination of success rate of root canal therapy performed by dentistry students in the Department of Endodontics at Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran, during 2014-2017

Root canal treatment, including pulp removal, mechanical and chemical cleaning, and canal filling is an important part of a dentist's job. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and success rate of root canal therapy performed by dentistry students in the Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

This retrospective study was conducted from 2014 to 2017. In total, 62 students were randomly divided into two equal groups of males and females. For each tooth, four radiographs, including the periapical images of the initial radiograph, master apical file, master cone, and final obturation radiographs, were reviewed under the supervision of an endodontist. The investigated technical errors included transport, ledge, perforation, underfilling, overfilling, and presence of void and broken instrument. Data were analyzed in SPSS software (Version 22). A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

According to the results, only 79.3% of the students committed at least one type of root healing error, and there was no significant difference between males and females regarding the overall prevalence of error (P=0.12). However, errors, such as underfill, broken instrument, and transport were more common among males; moreover, void and perforation errors were slightly more prevalent among females. It should be noted that this difference was not statistically significant.

The results of the present study can help identify the weaknesses of treatment in order to improve the quality of root canal treatment, especially regarding student gender in the School of Dentistry affiliated to Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.