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Influence of clinical experience on the radiographic determination of endodontic working length
Author(s) -
Alothmani O. S.,
Friedlander L. T.,
Monteith B. D.,
Chandler N. P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international endodontic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.988
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1365-2591
pISSN - 0143-2885
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2591.2012.02109.x
Subject(s) - radiography , bonferroni correction , consistency (knowledge bases) , post hoc , dentistry , wilcoxon signed rank test , medicine , orthodontics , post hoc analysis , root canal , significant difference , mathematics , statistics , mann–whitney u test , surgery , geometry
Aim To determine the influence of clinical experience on the accuracy and consistency of estimation of radiographic working length ( WL ) for the root canal treatment of single‐rooted teeth. Methodology Forty conventional WL periapical radiographs that included variations in file length were selected. They were digitally scanned and arranged in P ower P oint presentations on CD s. These were distributed to three assessor groups; fourth‐year undergraduates at two stages of training (Groups 1 and 2) and endodontic postgraduates (Group 3). Participants were asked to determine the adjustment needed in millimetres to position the file tip at the correct WL for each image. A gold standard file position was provided by three experienced endodontists. For inter‐group comparison of scores, the K ruskal– W allis, ANOVA and post hoc B onferroni tests were used. Evaluation of intra‐examiner consistency was with the K appa test. To evaluate intra‐group consistency, the W ilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the frequency of weighted correct scorings. Results File adjustments of Group 3 were significantly more accurate than those of Group 1 ( P = 0.006). The scores of Group 3 were also better than those of Group 2, although the difference was not significant. When the scores of the undergraduate groups were compared, the difference was not statistically significant. The consistency of the groups was not affected by a 2‐week pause between assessments, and no definite pattern could be detected across any of the groups with the K appa test. Conclusion Clinical experience after graduation influenced the accuracy of estimating the adjustments needed for correct radiographic WL of single‐rooted teeth. The most experienced group was significantly more accurate than the other groups.