Attitudes, techniques and trends in endodontic treatment by the house surgeons in dental institutes - Karachi

Background: The attitudes, techniques and different approaches toward endodontic treatment reflects the quality of the root canal treatment (RCT) performed by general dental practitioners. Endodontic therapy has been associated with the pre-operative diagnosis of the tooth, microbial factors, quality of RCT. Environmental factors in which the dentist works may also impact quality of RCT. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2013 to evaluate the attitudes, techniques and trends in endodontic treatment procedures amongst the house surgeons in dental institutes of Karachi. A cluster sampling technique was employed, and 170 structured questionnaires were distributed to all registered house surgeons employed in six different dental institutes of Karachi. All returned forms were evaluated by a single operator. Descriptive statistics and frequency distribution was analyzed using SPSS version 19. Results: From all given questionnaires, 150 filled questionnaires were collected from participants, which is 88.23% response rate. Conclusion: It was concluded that the recently graduated dental practitioners lacked expertise in certain regards. They were performing procedures that are deviated from the well acknowledged endodontic quality guidelines