Endodontic retreatment decision making among a group of general practitioners

Large interindividual variations have been demonstrated when dentists suggest clinical management of endodontically treated teeth. Since variations also have been shown in radiographic diagnosis of the periapical tissues, a hypothesis was tested that explains variation in treatment as a function of variation in diagnosis. Fifty-four general practitioners suggested diagnosis and management of 32 endodontically treated roots. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient reached 0.298 when the examiners were definitely sure of the presence of a periapical lesion, and 0.356 when probable lesions also were included. Conclusively, the hypothesis seemed to have a limited value in explaining why dentists carry out retreatment. Instead a multi-aspect approach to this problem is suggested.