Modern endodontic practices among dentists in India: A comparative cross-sectional nation-based survey

INTRODUCTION: More than 41,000 root canal treatments (RCTs) are performed every day and about 25 RCTs are performed every week by an endodontist. The success rate of endodontic treatment ranges between 86% and 98%; however, the failure rates cannot be ignored which can range up to 20% of the treated cases due to a varied number of reasons including incorrect adoption of working techniques and usage of inappropriate materials. The present study aimed at comparing the practices of various levels of dentists toward RCT in their daily practice. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional, descriptive, questionnaire-based study was conducted among the dental practitioners who have completed the Masters of Dental Surgery (MDS) curriculum in India and postgraduate students in various dental colleges in India. The sample size was achieved to be 1601 at the completion of the study. The response rate for the study was 80.05%. All the dentists practicing RCT either in the clinic or in the college and willing to participate in the study were included in the study. A self-structured questionnaire was used as study tool. SPSS was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 26.7% of the PG students (endodontists) used rubber dam. Majority of the dentists preferred hand instruments (62.36%) over rotary. Almost half (53.09%) of the postgraduates belonging to other branches reported to prescribe drugs. CONCLUSION: The present study showed a varied profile of the dentists with most of them following the basic protocols and techniques of international standards.