Factors affecting treatment planning decisions for compromised anterior teeth

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that create differences in opinion between dental professionals when treatment planning for a patient whose problem is limited to one or more maxillary incisors. A series of computer-generated scenarios was created in which anterior teeth were compromised for various reasons. The cases were used to survey a diverse group of practitioners regarding whether to treat or extract a tooth under the given circumstances. The results indicated that numerous patient-associated factors had statistically significant effects on the decision-making process. These included the patient's age, root length, root morphology, periodontal status, history of prior endodontic treatment, presence of posts, and size of periapical radiolucencies. The data also showed that a clinician's educational background had a dramatic impact on his or her treatment recommendation.