Evaluation of the relationship between periapikal health and the quali̇ty of root canal treatment and upper restorati̇ons performed by dental undergraduate students: A retrospecti̇ve study

Evaluation of the Relationship between Periapical Health and the Quality of Root Canal Treatment and Upper Restorations Performed by Dental Undergraduate Students: A Retrospective Study Objective: The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the relationship between periapical health, root canal treatment and upper restoration quality in teeth that underwent endodontic treatment by undergraduate dentistry students at Akdeniz University Faculty of Dentistry Endodontic Clinic. Materials and Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between periapical health in teeth treated with endodontic treatment by intern physicians at the Endodontics Clinic of Akdeniz University Faculty of Dentistry and root canal treatment and upper restoration quality. The results of this study were obtained by evaluating digital panoramic radiographic images taken at least 1 year after treatment of teeth that underwent root canal treatment by undergraduate students in Period 4 and Period 5 between 2017-2022 retrospectively. The data obtained from the examination of panoramic radiographs were evaluated by cross-tabulation (Crosstab) chi-square relationship analysis and Fisher's exact test for frequencies. IBM SPSS Statistics (v.25) (Windows, Chicago, USA) was used for statistical tests in the study Results: In this study, both the quality of root canal treatment and the quality of upper restoration were found to be significantly related to periapical healing. The quality of upper restoration has no effect on periapical healing in teeth where quality and proper root canal treatment is applied. In teeth with root canal treatment applied poorly, sufficient upper restoration quality has significantly positively affected periapical healing. Conclusion: According to the data obtained from this study, it has been revealed that periapical healing is related to root canal treatment and upper restoration quality in long-term follow-up of teeth that have undergone root canal treatment, and these factors can affect periapical healing independently of each other. The idea that periapical health can be sustained positively for many years with proper diagnosis, planning, and quality treatment application when systematically progressed is promising.