[Test your decision-making. When to do endodontic retreatment? Results of a study]

The goals of this survey were to determine the most frequent therapeutic option and to evaluate the consensus among a sample of Belgian practitioners managing the same simulated cases of root treated teeth. On average, conservative options (nonsurgical retreatment 35.27% and no retreatment 29.61%) are the most selected alternatives. Surgical options and extraction respectively constitute 21.18% and 13% of the treatment propositions. As expected, the presence of radiographic and/or clinical signs resulted in a more aggressive attitude, but the presence of symptoms does not seem to be a valid reason for reintervention. The results of the study demonstrate considerable interindividual variations in clinical management of root treated teeth, regardless of personal factors, such as gender, years of experience and graduation institution. Even if a consensus appears within a group of professionals, it is not necessarily applied by a majority of practitioners; this contributes certainly to the explanation of the geographical or institutional variations noted in the medical practices.