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. 2011 Dec 15;52(6):679-87.
doi: 10.3325/cmj.2011.52.679.

Prevalence of apical periodontitis and quality of root canal fillings in population of Zagreb, Croatia: a cross-sectional study

Jurica Matijević  1 , Tina Cizmeković Dadić, Goranka Prpic Mehicic, Ivica Ani, Mladen Slaj, Silvana Jukić Krmek
Affiliations

Prevalence of apical periodontitis and quality of root canal fillings in population of Zagreb, Croatia: a cross-sectional study

Jurica Matijević et al. Croat Med J. .

Abstract

Aim: To determine the prevalence of apical periodontitis and assess the quality of endodontic fillings in the population of the city of Zagreb, Croatia.

Methods: A total of 1462 orthopantomograms from new patients at 6 different dental practices was analyzed during 2006 and 2007. The presence of periapical lesions was determined by using the periapical index score (PAI). The quality of endodontic fillings was assessed according to the filling length and homogenicity. Data were analyzed using t test and ANOVA with Scheffe post-hoc test.

Results: There were 75.9% of participants with endodontically treated teeth and 8.5% of all teeth were endodontically treated. Only 34.2% of endodontically treated roots had adequate root canal filling length, while 36.2% of root canal fillings had homogenous appearance. From the total number of teeth with intracanal post, 17.5% had no visible root canal filling. Using PAI 3 as a threshold value for apical periodontitis, periapical lesions were detected in 8.5% of teeth. Adequate quality of root canal fillings was associated with a lower prevalence of periapical lesions.

Conclusion: We found a large proportion of endodontically treated teeth with apical periodontitis and a correlation between the quality of endodontic filling and the prevalence of periapical lesions. This all suggests that it is necessary to improve the quality of endodontic treatment in order to reduce the incidence and prevalence of apical periodontitis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age distribution of the sample.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between age and the number of endodontically treated teeth.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between age and periapical index score 3, 4, and 5.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Dental medical education in Croatia.
    Komar D. Komar D. Croat Med J. 2011 Dec 15;52(6):663-4. doi: 10.3325/cmj.2011.52.663. Croat Med J. 2011. PMID: 22180263 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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