153 - Clinical Management of Pre-Eruptive Lesions: General and Pediatric Dentists' Approach

Purpose: To obtain general practitioners’ (GP) and pediatric dentists’ (PD) approach to multiple clinical scenarios involving pre-eruptive intracoronal resorption lesions (PEIRs).

Methods: An electronic survey was emailed to general and pediatric dentists in Florida and North Carolina. Survey questions and images displayed were based on well-documented, published case reports, and they explored the management of different PEIRs. Survey takers’ responses were compared to how actual cases were treated and were analyzed separately for both groups.

Results: Out of 7746 emailed surveys, 265 dentists (194 GP and 71 PD) completed them (3.4%). Both GPs and PDs tended to be more aggressive in their treatment approach if the PEIR-affected tooth was erupted (as seen in cases #1,3,4), and more conservative if the PEIR-affected tooth was unerupted (as seen in case #2). Pediatric dentists were more likely to initiate vital pulp therapy if lesion limits approached the pulp, while general dentists were more likely to initiate non-vital pulp therapy versus extraction when pulp necrosis was diagnosed on a permanent tooth. In addition, 93% of PDs and only 46% of GPs demonstrated familiarity with the diagnosis of PEIRs in their patient population.

Conclusions:
Overall, PDs were more knowledgeable regarding PEIRs than GPs. This suggests that educational efforts on the teaching and diagnosis of PEIRs should be implemented on the general dentistry curriculum since these lesions affect children and adolescents.