Publication
Title
Root canal treatment performed by Flemish dentists : part 1 : cleaning and shaping
Author
Abstract
Aim To gather information on root canal treatment carried out by dentists working in Flanders (Belgium). Methodology A questionnaire was handed to 312 dentists attending peer review sessions organized by the Flemish Universities. Basic information (age, gender, year of graduation, practice profile) and information on various issues relating to the cleaning and shaping of root canals was collected. Results A total of 310 questionnaires were returned. The majority (85.7%) of respondents categorized themselves as general practitioners; 25.7% mentioned a clinical interest or speciality in practice. Most practitioners (64.5%) did not use rubber dam routinely during root canal treatment and performed treatment over two visits irrespective of the number of root canals. The majority of respondents (82.4%) used sodium hypochlorite as an irrigant, but 10.6% did not know the concentration they used; EDTA was used by 61.6%. The vast majority exposed a radiograph with an instrument of known length in situ to gauge the working length; only 3.6% relied on tactile sense; electronic root canal length determination was seldom used. Amongst the root canal instruments, K-files were used solely or in combination with other instruments by 60.3% of the respondents, reamers were used solely or in combination with other instruments by 55.4%. The stepback technique was used by 31.2% of the participants, a combination of stepdown and stepback by 26.4%, a reaming technique by 26.1% and the stepdown technique by 14.7%. The majority were familiar with mechanical root canal instruments. Almost half of the practitioners believed their preparation technique could be improved; only 1.3% felt that their procedures were poor. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that the theoretical knowledge of dentists working in Flanders is good. However, the use of rubber dam remained low, half believed their preparation technique could be improved.
Language
English
Source (journal)
International endodontic journal. - Oxford
Publication
Oxford : 2003
ISSN
0143-2885
DOI
10.1046/J.1365-2591.2003.00633.X
Volume/pages
36 :3 (2003) , p. 166-173
ISI
000181027700003
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 31.01.2012
Last edited 25.05.2022
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