Postoperative evaluation of special needs and healthy patients with endodontic treatment under general anesthesia: a retrospective research.

BACKGROUND: This retrospective clinical study was undertaken to comparatively evaluate the number of restorative treatments, endodontic treatments, and tooth extractions performed for patients under general anesthesia due to dental anxiety or special needs between 2015 and 2022 and to examine the pain, bleeding, nausea, and vomiting data of those patients. METHODS: In total, 1165 patients underwent dental treatment under general anesthesia in the faculty hospital. Those under the age of 15 and with no endodontic procedure planned (n = 918) were excluded, followed by those with incomplete data (n = 25) and those without endodontic treatment (n = 25). Patients who underwent at least one endodontic treatment were finally included in the study (n = 184). Patients were divided into two groups: healthy and with special needs. Dental treatments were recorded as endodontic, restorative, and teeth extractions. Endodontic treatments were classified according to the tooth type (premolar, molar, and incisors). The composite restorations were classified as anterior, occlusal (O), occluso-distal (OD) or occluso-mesial (OM), and mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) restorations and patients' post-treatment pain, nausea, vomiting, and bleeding were recorded. The data were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: Among the 184 patients included in the study, 70 (38%) were healthy, and 114 (62%) had special needs. Postoperative bleeding was observed more in patients with special needs (χ2 = 4.189, p < 0.05), whereas pain was observed more in healthy patients (U = 2922.00, p < 0.05). While the number of anterior, O, and MOD restorations was higher in patients with special needs, the number of OD or OM restorations was higher in healthy patients (χ2 = 74.877, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with special needs undergo a greater number of restorative treatments compared to control patients, which may be associated with the inadequate oral hygiene care of such patients. However, restorative treatment is mostly indicated for such patients in our faculty hospital, which may indicate that a conservative approach is taken. Additionally, the finding that postoperative bleeding was more severe in this group of patients compared to the control group in this study may emphasize the need to consider more possible complications after general anesthesia in these patients.

The incidence and intensity of postoperative pain and Flare-up following the use of three different intracanal medicaments in teeth with posttreatment apical periodontitis: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: This randomized clinical trial aimed to compare the effect of intracanal medicaments on the incidence of postoperative pain and flare-up with posttreatment apical periodontitis (PTAP) of retreatment cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty patients diagnosed with PTAP with single-rooted teeth with single-canal without spontaneous pain or swellings were included and randomly divided into three groups according to the intracanal medicament used. Intracanal medicaments were placed into the root canals following the removal of previous root canal fillings and re-instrumentation. Calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH)2), chlorhexidine gel (CHX), calcium hydroxide and chlorhexidine gel combinations were used as intracanal medicaments. Postoperative pain scores were recorded at 6 and 12 h and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 days using a visual analog scale (VAS). Sensitivity on percussion, spontaneous pain, swelling, antibiotic and analgesic requirements of the patients were evaluated during clinical examinations performed postoperatively after 2 and 7 days. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of VAS scores following the intracanal medicament application (p > 0.05). However, compared to the patients of 20-34 and 50-65 age groups, greater VAS scores were observed in patients of 35-49 age groups at 12 h, and 3, 4, 7 days (p < 0.05). Flare-up was observed in only one patient in the CHX gel group, and no flare-up was observed in other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Similar postoperative pain incidence in all experimental groups indicates that all three medicaments are clinically acceptable in inter-appointment management of retreatment cases in terms of post-endodontic pain and flare-up. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In this randomized clinical trial, three different intracanal medicaments were utilized in nonsurgical endodontic retreatment and their effect on postoperative pain and flare-up incidence was examined. Thus, this study will be a significant contribution in the decision-making during clinical practice; since there are a limited number of prospective clinical trials in the literature about the severity of pain following retreatment procedures including intracanal medicament use.

Evaluation of Different Root Canal Obturation Techniques in Internal Root Resorption of Three-Dimensional Printed Teeth Manufactured Using Computer Software.

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the filling ability of various root canal obturation techniques on the internal root resorption (IRR) cavities of replicated tooth samples manufactured using computer software and a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Orthographic images and root structures of a healthy upper maxilla central incisor in determined volumes and sizes were drawn as a prototype with the aid of computer software. Using the same software, an IRR defect was also modeled. These two images were then transferred to the AutoDesk Fusion 360 3D modeling program (AutoDesk, San Rafael, CA) for meshing. Afterward, the tooth model was transferred to a 3D modeling and prototyping program (RhinoCeros 3D; Robert McNells & Assoc., New York) and printed on a 3D printer. Eighty replicas with IRR were manufactured and divided into four groups (n = 20 per group) according to the obturating techniques as follows: Group 1: Cold lateral compaction (CLC), Group 2: Core Carrier System (GuttaCore), Group 3: Injectable Cold Filling (GuttaFlow® BioSeal), and Group 4: Continuous Wave Obturation System (Elements Free). After root canal filling, replicas were scanned with a high-resolution micro-computed tomography system (SkyScan 1172; Bruker-microCT, Kontich, Belgium), data regarding voids (unobturated areas) inside the IRR defects were statistically analyzed using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests. A pairwise comparison between the tested groups showed that Groups 3 and 4 had significantly fewer voids compared with Groups 1 and 2 in IRR defects (p < 0.05). Group 1/Group 2 and Group 3/Group 4 had similar results in terms of voids and there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). The injectable cold filling system (GuttaFlow BioSeal) and the injectable continuous wave obturation system (Elements Free) successfully obturated the pathological IRR irregularities when compared with CLC and core carrier (GuttaCore) systems.