Radiographic quality of root fillings performed by undergraduate students.

Objective: To evaluate the radiographic technical quality of root fillings and the incidence of iatrogenic errors in treatment provided by undergraduate students.

Methods: Endodontic records and periapical radiographs of 759 root filled teeth were selected following exclusion of 25 (3.3%). A final total of 734 cases were used to assess the technical quality of root fillings in 1109 root canals performed by 4(th) and 5(th) undergraduate students. Two variables were examined: the length and the density of the fillings, categorized as acceptable and non-acceptable. The presence of ledges, root perforation, foramen perforation and fractured instruments were also investigated. Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Acceptable root fillings were found in 55% of canals. More ;acceptable' root fillings occurred in maxillary compared to mandibular teeth (58 and 51% respectively) (P < 0.05) and in anterior compared with premolar (71 and 61%) and molar root canals (39% respectively) (P < 0.05). Insignificantly more (5.4%) acceptable root fillings were provided by 5(th) year students. Most of the underfillings and iatrogenic errors were detected in molars for both academic years (53 and 65% respectively). Ledges were noted in 55% of cases treated by both academic years and significantly more foramen perforations were detected in the 5(th) compared with the 4(th) year students (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: There is a need to improve the technical quality of root fillings performed by the undergraduate students, especially in molar teeth.