The influence of patients age on frequency of complications during root canal treatment

Relevance of the problem and aim of the work. The number of aged people is increasing fastly. The desire to preserve their own teeth results in an increasing need for endodontic treatment among the elderly. Aging affects teeth, which can complicate the treatment of root canals and may increase the risk of treatment complications. The aim of the study is to evaluate the frequency of complications during chemical-mechanical root canal treatment performed by dental students of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), Faculty of Dentistry among patients of different age groups. Material and methods. Patients with root canal therapy were selected according to inclusion and rejection criteria and divided by age into control (18 - 59 years) and case (over 60) groups. Data were collected from patient’s charts and X-ray photos about root canal therapy and its complications: perforation, instrument separation, overinstrumentation, transportation, dentin shavings, ledges in canals, loosing of all working length and missing canals. Results. The study included 341 patients who had 494 teeth and 858 root canals treatment. The frequency of complications in the control (14.4%) and case (11.9%) groups was similar (p