A Survey of Endodontic Protocols Employed by General Dentists, Postgraduate Trainees and Endodontists in Pakistan

Objective: The effectiveness of endodontic therapy is reliant upon maintaining treatment standards. Thestandard protocols improve the quality of treatment and reduce treatment failure. So, the current study isemployed to explore the endodontic protocols, materials and methods used by general dentists, postgraduatetrainees and endodontists. Materials and Methods: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 160 participantsthrough a well-constructed questionnaire through an online Google drive link distributed to general dentists,Postgraduate trainees and Endodontists. The study period was 1 month from 1-07-2022 to 31-07-2022. Theindividuals who do not give informed consent are excluded from the study. The response form has two mainsections including the demographic details and protocols employed by general dentists, postgraduatetrainees and specialists. Descriptive statistics were calculated as absolute frequencies and valid percentages.The chi-square test was used to evaluate the effects of education level and endodontic protocols. P value<0.05 is significant. Results: Among 160 participants, 70 (43.8%) were male and 90 (56.2%) were female. The majority ofparticipants were general dentists 98 (61.2%) with experience of <5 years. The use of Suctions was the mostcommon isolation method 72 (42.4%) and 104 (61.4%) participants prefer NaOCl as an irrigant in the rootcanal. There was a significant association between education level and appropriate endodontic protocolsemployed in patient care (p<0.05). Conclusion: The majority of Pakistani general dentists, postgraduate trainees and specialists surveyed in thecurrent study do not comply with quality standards and guidelines of endodontic treatment.