Endodontics Resident Naval Postgraduate Dental School, Bethesda Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess current implant placement trends in endodontic practices. The current nature of implant education in endodontic residency programs was also evaluated.
Methods: A 17-question survey was sent to 4,878 members of the American Association of Endodontists via SurveyMonkey to assess their opinions, level of training, and experience with implant placement. A survey that included an additional five questions was sent to current postgraduate endodontic residency program directors to understand the current nature of implant education in their residency programs. Univariate, bivariate, and logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the results.
Results: Preliminary survey result response rate was 4.9%. 19.33% of respondents were previously trained or actively training in implant placement. 80.67% of respondents were neither interested in placing implants nor in pursuing training. 50.85% of respondents believe that patients in their endodontic practice would benefit from having implants placed immediately if the tooth they were referred for was deemed non-restorable. 70.15% of respondents did not think that the ability to place implants has not had an impact on their endodontic practice. 70% of residency program directors stated that residents receive 10-20 hours of implant-related education. Residents in 30% of these programs place 1-5 implants during their training.
Conclusion: The results of this survey demonstrate that the majority of responding endodontists have little interest in pursuing implant placement training and believe that the ability to place implants has not had an effect on their endodontic practice.
