Frequency and technical standard of endodontic treatment in a Swedish population

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to study the frequency and technical standard of endodontic treatment in a Swedish population. The material consisted of full‐mouth radio‐graphic surveys from 200 patients treated by general practice dentists, and the radiographs were analyzed by two observers. Thirteen percent of the teeth had been endodontically treated. Periradicular radiolucencies were found in 5.2% of the teeth and 26.4% of the endodontically treated teeth had such periradicular radiolucencies. In nearly half of the root‐filled teeth, the root filling ended more than 2 mm from the apex, and only 56.3% were judged to have a proper seal. It is concluded that the need for endodontic treatment is great and the technical standard of the root fillings is poor. This strongly indicates that there is a need for standardized endodontic treatment methods and for more specialists in endodontics in Sweden.