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Published on: August 6, 2019
Periapical status and technical quality of root-filled teeth in Swedish adolescents and young adults. A retrospective
Karin Ridell1, Arne Petersson, Lars Matsson
1Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden. karin.ridell@od.mah.se
Objective:
The aim was to study periapical status and the technical quality of root-filled teeth in Swedish adolescents and young adults in Malmö, Sweden.
Material And Methods:
The sample, collected from dental records in the Public Dental Service, consisted of notes and radiographs of all root-filled permanent teeth in all 19-year-olds born in 1979 (mean age at root filling=16.2 years). The sample for assessing periapical status and technical quality consisted of 124-153 teeth. The criterion for inclusion for assessing periapical status was a follow-up time of at least one year. Periapical status was assessed with the Periapical Index (PAI). Technical quality was analyzed from radiographs in two respects: sealing quality of the root canal and distance from the root filling to the radiographic apex. The radiographs were analyzed independently by two observers with inter-examiner kappa values of 0.82-0.85.
Results:
Apical periodontitis was found in 52% of the teeth and occurred significantly more often among molars than among anterior teeth. As judged radiographically, 51% of the teeth were inadequately sealed. In 38%, the distance to the apex was >2 mm and overfilling was registered in 14% of the teeth. Compared with anterior teeth, significantly more root fillings of molars had a distance to the apex of >2 mm. Technical quality was statistically significantly correlated with periapical status at follow-up.
Conclusions:
The technical quality and periapical status of root-filled teeth in adolescents and young adults were unsatisfactory in about half of the teeth.
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