Quality of root canal treatment perfomed by undergraduate students at the Wits oral health centre

Abstract

Purpose: Following the changes to the undergraduate endodontic curriculum at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2012, there was a need to assess the impact of the changes on treatment outcomes. This study was an audit of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students as shown in the postoperative radiographs. The study compared the root canal treatment performed by the 3rd, 4th and 5th undergraduate students. Methods: Postoperative periapical radiographs of patients treated by undergraduate students, were examined to assess length, density, taper and iatrogenic errors. Two independent investigators were first calibrated, and thereafter assessed 299 endodontic cases that were performed by 3rd, 4th and 5th year students between 2013-2015 at the Wits Oral Health Centre. Results: 68.9%, 73.6% and 70.9% were found for adequate length, acceptable density and acceptable taper of root filling respectively. The most acceptable length, density and taper results was by the 5th year students, while the lowest results were in the 4th year students. The iatrogenic errors were identified as 37.1% with ledge formation and canal transportation the most common. Conclusion: The result of this study shows that the quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students is similar to other studies conducted at various dental schools around the world. The change in the curriculum has been justified, although the study does point out some areas of concern. There was a notable increase in quality from 4th year to 5th year students, possibly due to using of rotary system and dental operating microscope.