Root canal treatment in a population-based adult sample: status of teeth after endodontic treatment.
The purpose of this study was to quantify treatment outcomes of endodontically treated teeth, in a representative, population-based adult sample. The "Florida Dental Care Study" was a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study of 873 subjects who had at least one tooth at baseline and who were 45 yr or older. An in-person interview and clinical examination were conducted at baseline, 24 months, and 48 months after baseline, with 6-monthly telephone interviews between those times. Dental record information was abstracted afterward. Seventy-five teeth had conventional root-canal therapy (RCT) performed and met the inclusion criteria of 1-yr of follow-up or extraction. The mean duration of follow-up after RCT was 24.8 months. The mean (SD) attachment loss (AL) on teeth receiving RCT was only 3.3 (1.4) mm. Permanent restorations were placed in 79% of teeth a mean of 4.4 months after the RCT. However, 12% of teeth did not have any restorative treatment after RCT. After RCT had been completed, 81% of teeth were retained and 19% were ultimately extracted. Taken as a whole, this community-based study of a representative sample of adults suggests a higher failure rate than reported from studies in highly controlled environments or insured populations. It also suggests that the length of time to initial restoration of RCT-treated teeth is less than optimal. RCT was almost never performed on teeth with advanced periodontal attachment loss.
Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-0007, USA. drt@uab.edu
Ken R
KR
Tilashalski
Gregg H
GH
Gilbert
Michael J
MJ
Boykin
Brent J
BJ
Shelton
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D004708:Endodontics; D005431:Florida; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000145:classification; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012390:Root Canal Therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D016896:Treatment Outcome