Evaluation of Dental Interns' Perception and Self-Confidence Levels Regarding Endodontic Treatment"- A Questionnaire Study

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the perception and self-confidence of Dental interns regarding endodontic treatment performed on patients. Material and Methods: A total of 111 dental interns from 5 different educational institutes of a state in South India participated in a questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire consisted of 12 questions related to root canal procedures performed on patients. Analysis was done using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Sixty-five interns (59%) performed less than 10 root canal treatments on patients during the course of the internship. Twenty-eight interns (25% of the intern population) took up more than 10 root canal treatment cases, whereas only 18 interns (16%) did not perform the treatment on patients and answered the questionnaire based on their experience with extracted teeth model work. Only five interns out of 111 were 'Very confident' and 22 were 'Confident' in performing the root canal treatment. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the self-perceived confidence level among dental interns can affect their clinical performance. It also recommends additional hands-on workshops, problem-based learning and clinical guidance for the dental interns to become more confident with the root canal procedure.

Non-linear indices of heart rate variability during endodontic treatment

Abstract Dental treatment promotes psychosomatic change that can influence the procedure and compromise the general well-being of the patient. In this context, it highlights the importance of evaluating the function of the autonomic nervous system in individuals undergoing endodontic treatment. Thus, this manuscript aimed to analyse cardiac autonomic modulation, through non-linear indices of heart rate variability (HRV) during endodontic treatment. Analysis of 50 subjects of either sex aged between 18 and 40 years diagnosed with irreversible pulp necrosis of lower molars undergoing endodontic treatment was undertaken. We carried out fractal and symbolic analysis of HRV, which was recorded in the first session of the endodontic treatment at four intervals: T1: 0-10 min before the onset of the treatment session; T2: 0-10 min after the application of anaesthesia; T3: throughout the period of treatment; and T4: 0-30 min after the end of the treatment session. There was reduction of α1 in T2 compared to T1 and T4 (p < 0.0001). The α2 index also reduced in T2 compared to T3 (p = 0.0035). There was an increase in the α1/α2 ratio in T4 compared to T2 and T3 (p = 0.0003). It was found that 0V% was significantly lower in T2 (p = 0.002), while 2UV% was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) when compared to other points in time. In conclusion, HRV is reduced during endodontic treatment, and after applying local anaesthetic the parasympathetic component of HRV increases. These data indicate that endodontic treatment acutely overcharges the heart, supporting the stress involved in this situation.

Dental esthetic satisfaction, received and desired dental treatments for improvement of esthetics.

Aim: The purposes of this research were to investigate factors influencing patients' satisfaction with their present dental esthetic, received previous dental treatments on anterior teeth and basic treatments that they wanted to undergo to improve their dental appearance. Materials and Methods: A total of 1014 patients who attended a dental school in a major city in Turkey participated in the study. The participants were surveyed with a questionnaire containing questions about gender, age, education level, self-reported tooth appearance, received previous dental treatments on anterior teeth and desired basic esthetic dental treatments. Statistical analysis of the verifying data was made with descriptive statistics, χ2 test and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: According to the analyses of the verifying data, 55.1% of the patients were dissatisfied with the color of their teeth, 42.7% with dental appearance, 29.9% with crowding of anterior teeth, 23.3% were hiding teeth while smiling, 16.1% had non-esthetic restorations and 11.9% thought that their anterior teeth were protruding. Esthetic restoration was found to be the most-performed treatment recently (29.0%) and whitening of teeth was the most-desired dental treatment (49.0%). Gender, age and education level had an effect on satisfaction and received previous and desired dental treatments for improvement of esthetics. Conclusion: Many of the Turkish patients surveyed in the study were dissatisfied and desired the improvement of dental esthetics. Therefore, dentists should consider this as an important dimension in their practice.