School of Oral Health Sciences (ETDs)

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Browsing School of Oral Health Sciences (ETDs) by Author "Patel, E"

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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices of patients towards root canal treatment in the Mopani district, Limpopo
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Nkosi, Mokgadi Michille Veronica; Mothopi-Peri, MM; Patel, E
    The South African National Oral Health Strategy’ is a document that was drafted and last modified in 2015 by the South African Department of Health and several oral health stakeholders. The authors of the document acknowledge that dental extraction is the primary form of treatment offered in the public health sector, outside of the academic oral health centres. This is supported by several studies conducted in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Limpopo provinces of South Africa; which highlighted a greater adult tooth extraction statistic in public health institutions compared to the number of teeth being saved (Mthethwa et al., 2020; Smit and Osman, 2017; Thema and Singh, 2017b). Additionally, the document further highlights that the burden of untreated tooth decay remains unacceptably high in South Africa. The prevalence of dental caries in South Africa has shown a rising trend over time (Chikte et al., 2020a; Thema and Singh, 2017b), therefore the strategies and treatment modalities formulated were aimed towards restoring the carious teeth of patients’ consulting at these public dental departments. ‘The tooth loss goal’ is one of the national oral health goals for 2030 that aims to preserve a minimum number of patients’ natural dentition (e.g., 20 teeth in a 40-year-old patient) (National Department of Health, 2010). The key target area for the goal was to reduce the dental extraction ratio from the current level of 20:1 to 10:1. A tooth may be restored using conservative restorative approaches, or additively root canal therapy when indicated (Erazo etal., 2024). Root canal therapy (RCT) is a tooth-saving treatment procedure in dentistry for teeth presenting with an irreversibly inflamed or necrotic pulp with possible periapical pathology (Walton and Torabinejad, 2009). The treatment involves a sequence of meticulous clinical techniques. This is completed as either a one visit appointment or over multiple visits, based largely on clinical factors. Since RCT could require multiple visits, patients must be motivated and willing to commit to keeping appointments for the duration of the treatment. Alternatively, another option would be to have the tooth extracted, with the option of a prosthesis to replace the missing tooth if indicated