Dentists and Dental Intern’s Preferences of Root Canal Treatment with Restoration Versus Extraction then Implant-Supported Crown Treatment Plan

The intent of this study was to evaluate and compare the preferences and treatment choices between dentists and dental interns with regard to the following different treatment modalities: Root Canal Treatment (RCT) with restoration versus extraction with Implant-Supported Crown (ISC) or surgical treatment in relation to the given case scenarios.

The questionnaire was presented as an online survey with a case scenario. The total number of the respondents were 165. The four clinical case scenarios included an anterior and posterior tooth having apical periodontitis, with and without previous RCT. The treatment options were as follows: RCT with restoration, extraction then implant, and surgical treatment.

A total of 165 dentists and dental interns were included in this study. A hundred and three 62.4% respondents were dentists, 60; 36.3% were males and 105; 63.7% were females. Most of the respondents graduated from the College of Dentistry, Jazan University (93.9%). The highest percentages and numbers for Anterior Teeth (AT) were selected in related to the RCT and restorations in the four scenarios among gender, dentists, and interns, with no considerable differences. A high percentage of RCT and restoration option was recorded for Posterior Teeth (PT) with no previous restoration and around 50% for the same treatment modality to posterior teeth with previous restorations. For Future Planning Postgraduate Studies (FPPS), it was obvious that most of the selected specialties agreed with the RCT and restorations choice.

All dentists and interns in both genders preferred RCT with restorations over extraction, and then ISC in the AT with and without previous RCTs. In the PT with no previous RCT, the participants agreed that RCT with restorations is superior to other choices. Among the FPPS, the respondents demonstrated an absolute agreement to RCT and restorations as a treatment of choice for different scenarios.

Dentists should preserve the natural teeth by RCT with restoration as the first treatment choice followed by other choices. The nonsurgical approach should always be adopted as a routine measure in PA lesions of endodontic origin. Conservative orthograde endodontic therapy demonstrates favorable outcomes with a regular periodic review and assessment of the healing process of PA lesions.