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Published on: October 11, 2024
Long-Term Outcomes of Nonsurgical Endodontic Retreatment Performed by a Single Clinician in Private Practice: A
Terrell F Pannkuk1, Austin Whitmore2, Anusha Kalaichelvan2
1Santa Barbara Endodontics, Private Practice, Santa Barbara, California.
Introduction:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term outcomes of nonsurgical retreatment (NS-ReTx) procedures performed by a single endodontist in private practice.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study evaluated NS-ReTx procedures performed between the years 1986 and 2019, meeting the following inclusion criteria: minimum of 1-year follow-up and preoperative, postoperative, and follow-up radiographs available for analysis. Procedures were evaluated clinically and radiographically, and treatment outcomes were reported. A subset of cases included cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and CBCT-assessed periapical healing was reported for these cases. The effect of clinical factors on radiographic healing was assessed using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. The Kaplan-Meier method estimated the probability of tooth survival at each year of follow-up.
Results:
A total of 241 NS-ReTx procedures from 202 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median patient age at time of NS-ReTx was 54 years. Molars were the most frequently treated tooth type, 57.68%. Radiographic healing at the median follow-up time, 9.14 years (n = 231) was 64.07% healed (148 of 231), 7.36% healing (17 of 231), and 28.57% unhealed (66 of 231). An additional 10 teeth were extracted before any radiographic follow-up. CBCT-assessed periapical healing ("strict" criteria) was 65.63% over a median follow-up time of 9.18 years. Tooth survival following NS-ReTx was 93.3% at 5 years and 85.3% at 10 years.
Conclusions:
The study demonstrates that radiographic periapical healing and treatment success improve over time and that tooth survival following NS-ReTx is favorable long-term.
