Perceptions of Endodontic Treatment Outcomes Provided by Undergraduate Students and Endodontic Specialists

Introduction: A growing interest from investigators and practitioners have been registered in assessing patients’ quality of life and satisfaction with effectiveness of provided dental care. Specific treatment-related satisfaction measures have been introduced to recognize individuals’ perceptions of root canal treatment outcomes. Methods: Two hundred systemically healthy patients with irreversible inflammation of the dental pulp were endodontically treated and filled in anonymously a questionnaire consisting of two parts: 1) personal and demographic information (age, gender, occupation, education, income), and 2) seven semantic differential scales evaluating personal satisfaction two weeks after root canal treatment was completed. Level of satisfaction was assessed by assigning scores from 1 to 10 along continuous bipolar scales, separately for each treated tooth. Results: Very high overall satisfaction was registered in both groups with the scores being higher for patients treated by students but the difference was insignificant (p=0.068). Patients were significantly more pleased with their root canal treatment provided by specialists followed by undergraduate students (p=0.017). On the contrary, satisfaction with treatment cost was significantly lower for those treated by specialists compared to values registered by students’ patients (p< 0.0001). Conclusions: Endodontic treatment provided by undergraduate students and endodontic specialist resulted in an extremely high level of overall satisfaction almost equal for both groups. Treatment painfulness, postoperative esthetics and chewing ability were highly appreciated regardless of the treatment provider but perception of postoperative pleasantness was significantly higher for specialists. Significantly greater satisfaction with the treatment cost was registered in the group treated by students.