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.
Tilashalski
Ken R
KR
Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-0007, USA. drt@uab.edu
Gilbert
Gregg H
GH
Boykin
Michael J
MJ
Shelton
Brent J
BJ
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