A survey of attitude and opinions of endodontic residents towards regenerative endodontics

AIM: The objective of this survey was to study the level of awareness, current state of knowledge and opinions towards regenerative endodontic treatments amongst the endodontic residents of India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Questionnaire based survey was designed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After approval from the organizing committee of 26(th) Federation of Operative Dentistry of India and 19(th) Indian Endodontic Society National conference 2011, 200 copies of the questionnaire were circulated amongst the endodontic residents in conservative dentistry and endodontics at various colleges across the country about regenerative endodontic procedures. The survey included profile of the respondents and consisted of 23 questions about their knowledge, attitude and opinions regarding use of these procedures as part of future dental treatment. RESULTS: The survey showed that half the participants (50.6%) had received continued education in stem cells and/or regenerative dental treatments. The majority of participants were of the opinion (86.6%) that regenerative therapy should be incorporated into dentistry, and most of them (88%) were willing to acquire training in learning this new treatment strategy. The results indicated that half of the participants (52.6%) were already using some type of regenerative therapy in their clinical practice; however, with a majority of these limited to use of membranes, scaffolds or bioactive materials. CONCLUSIONS: These results reflect that endodontic residents are optimistic about the use of regenerative endodontic procedures; however, a need for more research and training was felt.