Elsevier

Journal of Endodontics

Volume 31, Issue 11, November 2005, Pages 783-790
Journal of Endodontics

Clinical Research
The Influence of Different Factors on the Survival of Root Canal Fillings: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

https://doi.org/10.1097/01.don.0000158229.43298.a9Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the survival time of root canal fillings performed in 1990 and 1991 at the Dental School, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. Data were collected retrospectively from the dental records and control radiographs were evaluated. The survival probability was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Intergroup differences were verified with the log-rank test. The 914 evaluated root canal fillings yielded an overall 10-yr cumulative survival probability of 0.74. The factors baseline periapical condition (p < 0.001), length (p < 0.001), condensation (p < 0.001), vitality (p < 0.001), and pain symptoms (p = 0.005) were found to have a significant influence on the long-term success of root canal fillings. Higher survival rates were recorded for teeth with healthy periapical conditions, root canal fillings of the correct length, homogeneously condensed root canal fillings, root canal fillings in previously vital teeth, and teeth that had been asymptomatic during treatment. A nonsignificant influence was recorded for the parameters operator (p = 0.606) and retreatment (p = 0.196).

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

All root canal fillings performed in 1990 and 1991 at the Department of Operative Dentistry, Dental School, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany, were followed up with reference to the dental records. The patient's name and date of birth were taken from the radiographic records of the respective year with reference to the control radiograph made on completion of any endodontic treatment.

The unit ‘tooth' was specified as the smallest study unit. In cases where more than one tooth had

Results

Followed up were 965 teeth that had undergone endodontic treatment in 1990 and 1991 at the Department of Operative Dentistry, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. Of these, 441 root canal fillings (45.7%) dated from 1990, and 524 (54.3%) from 1991. There were 51 root canal fillings (5.3%) that had been placed presurgically for planned root resections not included in the study, so that 914 root canal fillings were available for further evaluation.

The gender distribution was well balanced

Discussion

There were 914 teeth that had undergone root canal treatment and were followed up in the present study. The number of teeth investigated in comparable studies ranges between 22 and 2298 (7), one study had access to 110,766 cases using a data-warehousing approach at an insurance company database (15). By contrast, some authors specified the number of roots; this ranged between 501 (8) and 1277 (16).

In the present study, the tooth was selected as the smallest study unit. A subdivision based on

References (38)

Cited by (0)

View full text