A Nonsurgical Endodontics Relational Research Database: The Initial Six Years of Experience

Significance of Endodontic Case Difficulty Assessment: A Retrospective Study

Objectives

The present study aimed to evaluate the significance of the American Association of Endodontics (AAE) Case Difficulty Assessment on the occurrence of endodontic mishaps in an undergraduate student clinic at the Dental College at King Saud University.

Methods

All teeth endodontically treated by undergraduate dental students in their fourth year at the College of Dentistry, Girls University Campus at King Saud University over 2 years (2018-2019) were selected. Four investigators (3 dental interns and 1 endodontist) recorded the AAE case difficulty level, mishap occurrence, number of treatment visits, type of teeth, and type of instrumentation technique. The associations amongst these variables were analysed.

Statistical analysis

A point-biserial correlation was used to determine the relationship between the number of visits and the AAE case difficulty and the instrumentation technique. Spearman's rank-order correlation was used to assess the relationship between the number of visits and mishaps. A Mann-Whitney U test was applied to determine any differences in mishaps amongst cases with different difficulty levels.

Results

A total of 586 teeth were included (54.1% moderate- to high-difficulty cases), and 34.98% of cases experienced mishaps. Molars were significantly more often found in the moderate- to high-difficulty category. The moderate- to high-difficulty cases experienced more mishaps (64.8%; P = .000) and a greater number of treatment visits (3.49 ± 1.27; P = .000) compared to minimal-difficulty cases (35.12%, 2.38 ± 1.24, respectively). The type of instrumentation technique was not associated with mishap occurrence.

Conclusions

Undergraduate students should use the AAE case classification assessment tool to reduce the number of endodontic treatment mishaps and the number of visits.

DBEndo: a web-based endodontic case management tool

Background

The success of endodontic treatment depends—among many other factors—on good documentation. Paper-based records are often difficult to read or incomplete and commercially available tools focus on billing. An electronic record captures the state of treatment at all times. Databases are a common tool in everyday life.

Results

Here, we present a database created for the Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Through consistent digital documentation, data analytics of patients, root canal anatomies, instrumentation techniques, efficacy of chemical disinfection, root filling techniques, and corresponding recall success rates, which needed extensive research before, are now easy to perform. Tables and even graphics and data analystics are only one click away and can be exported to other programs.

Conclusions

DBEndo is a database to store and visualise internally, as well as to share endodontic cases online. For academic use we provide the database including all forms and some anonymous data for free at: http://dbendo.charite.de. Through easy import and export of the data, the system is open and flexible.