Dr./Endodontics Resident Louisiana State University Metairie, Louisiana, United States
The purpose of this survey was to assess trends in radiography among endodontists and endodontic residents during non-surgical endodontic treatment. A 10-question survey was emailed to ~4000 active US members of the American Association of Endodontics and data was collected over a four month period. The number of radiographs acquired for anterior, premolar and molar non-surgical endodontic treatment was compared across different variable groups using a Kruskal Wallace test. Chi-squared tests of Independence were used to determine relationships amongst different variables. 422 responses were collected (response rate ~10%). The average number of radiographs acquired during non-surgical endodontic treatment was 3.42 (anterior), 3.87 (premolar) and 4.16 (molar). 54.7% of respondents always acquired intra-operative radiographs during treatment. The average number of radiographs completed by military endodontists and endodontic residents was greater than other professionals (p < .001). Those who always acquired CBCT imaging tended to acquire an average of 3.38 (anterior), 3.83 (premolar) and 4.11 (molar) radiographs. 8-12 radiographs were considered excessive by 38.4% of respondents followed by 6-7, more than 12 radiographs and 4-5 radiographs. Working films were acquired by most endodontists except for 5.7% of endodontists with 20-25 years of experience and 2.4% of private practice associates. There appears to be a significant difference in the number of radiographs generated for non-surgical endodontic treatment between endodontic professionals. The type of radiography (conventional vs. digital), adjunct technology (CBCT, EAL, Portable X-Ray Unit) and positioning device did not appear to significantly impact that number.
