Endodontic Procedural Errors by Students in Two Saudi Dental Schools

OBJECTIVE: To explore endodontic procedural errors committed by undergraduate dental students in King Khalid University (KKU), Abha and AlFarabi dental college, Riyadh. METHODS: In this cross sectional study, a questionnaire was distributed to 500 dental students from both schools and of both genders in the 5th and 6th levels in the academic year 2016–2017. Participants were asked to record their endodontic procedural error(s) that had occurred during training. RESULTS: Returned and eligible questionnaires were 469 (93.8% response rate) and were almost equally distributed by university (KKU and Alfarabi). The participants’ age ranged from 22 to 24 years, and approximately 47% of them were female students and 65% were 6th level students. Almost 56% of the sample reported at least one endodontic procedural error during their training. Female students reported errors (65%) more frequently than the male students (49%; P=0.002). Up to 54% of these errors were in the posterior teeth and 65% were in teeth with curved roots. Most common error during access cavity preparation was gouging (68%) and due to instrumentation was ledge formation (47%), during obturation was voids (41%). There were no differences in the reported endodontic errors between the two universities. CONCLUSION: The frequency of reported endodontic procedural errors by senior dental students in both schools, more specifically those in the 6th year, is high. Ledge formation and voids in the root canal filling are the most frequently reported endodontic errors.