Evaluation of Quality of Endodontic Retreatment: A Cross-sectional Study among Private Moroccan Dentists

Abstract

Objectives: To study the attitude of dentists towards root canal retreatment performed in the private sector in Casablanca. Material and methods: To conduct a descriptive cross-sectional study, an anonymous questionnaire was distributed to a representative sample of 314 Moroccan dentists. Sample size calculation and sampling were performed using Epi info software. Data were analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. Qualitative variables were expressed by their effective and percentage, and quantitative ones by their mean and standard deviation. Results: 91.5% of dentists used endodontic retreatment in their daily practice, and 84.4% of these dentists routinely indicated it when faced with a missing root canal filling or a painful apical lesion.  When disobturating, 51.1% of dentists used Desocclusol as a root canal solvent, and 57.4% opted for a combination of manual and rotary mechanized instrumentation. The most common accidents encountered were instrument fractures (68.4%), followed by stoppers (45.7%). Conclusion: The results of this study show that dentists in Casablanca were not complying with the preliminary stages of endodontic retreatment. However, we noted an evolution towards the use of new mechanized preparation techniques and digital radiography.