PERIAPICAL STATUS, QUALITY OF ROOT-CANAL FILLINGS AND ESTIMATED ENDODONTIC TREATMENT NEEDS IN AN URBAN GERMAN POPULATION

The objective of this study was to determine the periapical status and the quality of root canal fillings and to estimate the endodontic tre atment needs in a German population. Clinical and radiographic data an d the operative procedures performed were evaluated on 323 patients co ming to a dental surgery in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1993. In 182 indivi duals at least one tooth exhibited a root canal filling, a necrotic pu lp or an irreversible pulpitis. Out of the 7897 teeth examined, 215 (2 .7%) had a root canal treatment (category A), 122 being non-endodontic ally treated (1.5%) did not respond to the sensitivity test (category B) and 53 (0.7%) were diagnosed as having irreversible inflamed pulp t issue (category C). The prevalence of teeth associated with radiograph ic signs of periapical pathosis was 61% in the group of root canal fil led teeth and 88% in the group of pulpless and non-endodontically trea ted teeth. Using the level and the density of the root canal filling a s criteria for evaluating the technical standard, only 14% of the endo dontic treatments of non-apicectomized teeth were qualified as adequat e. The minimal endodontic treatment need is 2.3% related to all examin ed teeth when the root canal filled teeth with clinical symptoms of pe riapical periodontitis (category A) and those of categories B and C ar e included. The real endodontic treatment need is suggested to be larg er when considering that the technical quality of the obturation is po or in most symptomless endodontically treated teeth associated with a periapical lesion. In the case of retreatment of these teeth, the endo dontic treatment need would then be calculated at 3.7%.