Iatrogenic Errors during Root Canal Instrumentation Performed by Dental Students

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Endodontics
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Assessing the quality of root canal therapy is crucial for patient outcomes.
• Evaluating the clinical performance of dental students provides insights into training effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between the quality of endodontic training and the success of root canal therapy performed by final-year dental students.
• To identify common procedural errors in endodontic treatments conducted by students.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 432 endodontic treatment records from fifth-year dental students.
• Radiographic assessment by two independent endodontists to evaluate specific error types.
• Investigated errors included apical transportation, apical perforation, gouging, ledge formation, and temporary restoration quality.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of apical transportation, ledge formation, and apical perforation errors was significantly higher in molars compared to other teeth.
• Apical transportation was the most common error, occurring more frequently in mandibular teeth.
• No significant differences were observed for other error types across different tooth types.

Conclusions:

• Current endodontic training quality for dental students requires enhancement.
• Modification of the endodontic curriculum is recommended to improve procedural accuracy and clinical outcomes.