Incidence of Endodontic Treatment: A 48-Month Prospective Study
The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of endodontic services provided to participants in a longitudinal cohort study. The “Florida Dental Care Study” was a prospective cohort study using a representative baseline sample of 873 dentate adults. An in-person interview and clinical dental exam were conducted at baseline, 24, and 48 months after baseline, with telephone interviews every 6 months between those times. Dental record information was abstracted afterward. Thirteen percent of participants received at least one endodontic procedure after baseline. Endodontic services constituted approximately 2% of all dental procedures performed. Conventional root canal therapy comprised 94% of the endodontic services and was approximately evenly distributed among anterior teeth, premolars, and molars. Retreatment and apicoectomy each accounted for 3% of the endodontic procedures. The most common self-reported reasons for the dental visit in which a root canal occurred were “toothache,” “abscess,” and “dental sensitivity.” A significant percentage of persons received some type of endodontic treatment in this diverse adult sample. Dental abscesses or toothaches were the main reason(s) for endodontic treatment, but not all persons with these conditions during follow-up sought dental treatment of any variety.
Dr. Boykin is Assistant Professor, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry; Dr. Tilashalski is Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry; Dr. Gilbert is professor and chair, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry; and Dr. Shelton is associate professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
Address requests for reprints to Dr. Michael J. Boykin, Assistant Professor, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, UAB School of Dentistry, SDB Room 117, 1530 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0007
NIH DE-12587, DE-11020, DE-14164, and DE-12457 supported this investigation.
The opinions and assertions contained herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as necessarily representing the views of the University of Alabama at Birmingham or the National Institutes of Health. The informed consent of all human subjects who participated in this investigation was obtained after the nature of the procedures had been explained fully. An website devoted to details about the FDCS can be found at http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/∼gilbert/ (formerly http://www.nerdc.ufl.edu/∼gilbert/).
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