Radiographic Quality of Root Canal Therapy Accomplished Clinically by Undergraduate Dental Students

Objective: To analyze the technical quality of root canal therapy done by dental students while in clinical training. Material and Methods: The frequency of common technical errors was assessed using dental periapical radiographs. 870 charts (n= 870) were evaluated which involved 870. In each chart, 3 periapical radiographs were used for evaluation of the incidence rate and types of errors happening within the root canal procedure. The 3 periapical radiographs were diagnostic (pre-treatment) radiograph, working length determination radiograph, and gutta-percha and sealer (obturation) radiograph. Results: It was found that phase 3 (obturation phase) shows the highest frequency of errors 54.37%, followed by phase 1 (access opening) 11.84%, and finally phase 2 (root canal preparation) shows the least frequency 4.01%. Conclusion: This study identified that the least rate of errors in endodontic therapy happened during access opening and instrumentation when compared to obturation.