INTRODUCTION:

In Root canal treatment (RCT), a damaged and diseased dental pulp is removed and replaced by a sterile and antibacterial material. It succours an individual to retain his tooth by improving the overall function and aesthetics by repairing the focus of infection and by treating the infected area. The patients are concerned of several issues related to root canal treatment (RCT), including pain associated with root canal treatment has been spread among patients, due to which they cancel the visits to the dental clinic [2]. This leads to the worsening of their situations. Contemporary endodontics has been developing as the generation moves on. This development doesn't concern only the instruments but also the procedure of the treatment. The modern endodontics concentrates more in making the procedure painless and effective. There are multitudinous ways to mitigate the pain suffered by the patients during the course of treatment by the usage of local and conduction or even general anaesthesia [2].

The aim of this survey is to assess the patient's opinion, experience and their knowledge of root canal treatment. This is done to guide the patients to take a proper decision over their choice of treatment and to bring about an awareness among people about root canal treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Questionnaire based survey was conducted among patients visiting saveetha dental college. A total of 100 patients participated in the study. There were two inclusive criterion for the study which was followed- the patients should have undergone the root canal treatment or he should be in the process. This questionnaire contained a total of 10 questions that recorded the knowledge, attitude and awareness of the patients towards root canal therapy.

RESULTS:

The study comprised of 100 subjects and the denouement was calculated in percentages. The most probable reason for the dental visit by the patient was due to toothache (26%), the second common reason was infection caused in the tooth (20%) and the other reasons are sensitivity (17%), dental caries (14%), injury (3%), tooth discoloration (8%) and it also composed of people who visited for a general treatment and later got to know that there was a need for RCT. Ample number of patients (71%) are aware of RCT, but a few (29%) are not aware of what RCT is. 97% of the subject, preferred saving of tooth over extraction. More than half the patients (95%) agree with the doctor's suggestion for undergoing RCT, whereas 4% prefers extraction and the rest prefer none. A considerable number of patients (86%) are aware of the expenses related to the therapy and the number of follow ups required to complete the treatment (95%). A total of 92% of the subject are ready for the post endodontic restoration. As known, the procedures of RCT is painful 46% of them accepted it to be too painful whereas the other 54% could bare the pain. It was recorded that 76% of the subject could cope with the treatment and 71% of them were satisfied enough to recommend the therapy to others.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:

Table no.1.1: various reasons for dental visit

REASONS FOR DENTAL VISIT
Infection	20%
Sensitivity	17%
Dental caries	14%
Injury	3%
Tooth discolouration	8%
General	13%

Fig no.1.1: various reasons for dental visit vs the no. of patients

Table no.1.2: The yes percentage for various criteria

YES PERCENTAGE	%
Awareness of RCT	71%
Saving of tooth	96%
Awareness of expenses	86%
Proper follow ups	95%
Painful procedure	46%
Recommendation	71%

Fig no.1.2: The yes percentage for various criteria vs no.of patients

Fig no.1.3: Awareness of RCT among people

DISCUSSION:

One of the fastest growing areas of dentistry in the recent years is observed to be endodontics. The quality and durability of the treatment has become more effective after the use of Modern tools (the rotary nickel-titanium files which has enabled a quicker root canal preparation, as these instruments produce a uniformly tapered canal configuration with minimum canal transportation and also reduces the incidences of periradicular irritation and post-operative discomfort but only about one fifth of respondents use these rotary instruments in root canal preparation whereas the others use Non-rotary manual endodontic files), rubber dam, and microscope in daily practise. Pain affiliated with the endodontic treatment is always perceived to be moderate and rarely sharp [2].

The feeling of this emotion can be controlled or reduced by the use many forms of local anesthesia and the use of nitrous oxide enhances the effects of their actions. The primary purpose of the rubber dam protection is to reduce the risk of foreign body inhalation or ingestion by the patient and also to provide an aseptic environment for endodontic procedures. Root canal treatment without a rubber dam can be hazardous and is legally indefensible. According to various study, 79% of dentists never used rubber dam and only 12.7% used it occasionally in the practice [1].

One of the most crucial step in endodontics is the determination of the working length because the procedure includes cleaning, shaping and obturation of the root canal system. Improper or failure of the determination of the working time can lead to apical perforation; overextension of irritants or obturation materials into the peri-radicular tissues, may also lead to incomplete instrumentation and obturation [1].

Temporary restorative materials used in endodontics must provide a high quality seal of the access preparation to prevent microbial contamination of the root canal. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents use Cavit as temporary filling material, which under experimental conditions provided superior resistance to bacterial leakage (Beach et al, 1996). Systemic antibiotics are indicated only if there has been systemic spread of infection. Otherwise, they may present more of a risk to the patient than the local infection. There is evidence that antibiotics are prescribed inappropriately in general dental practices (Palmer et al, 2000). Recent reviews revealed that systematic antibiotics alone offer no additional benefit in the management of acute apical periodontitis and acute abscesses in permanent dentition (Mathews et al, 2003). With the increasing worldwide problem of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need to rationalise prescription of antibiotics [1].

The subjects visited the dentist only at the time of problems. The major problem for their dental visit was toothache (26%). Only 54% of the people who were involved in the study could bare the pain that they had to undergo during the procedures. Most of the people are not aware of the term "endodontist" and they think that the term "dentist/ dental surgeon" itself is a specialized field in which the clinicians can carry out all the dental procedures.

The awareness about root canal treatment among patients have been increased significantly over a period of time. This awareness has been caused mainly due to mass media like television, Internet and newspapers [2]. With reference to the survey it is clearly observed that majority of the clinicians do not practice single visit root canal therapy. The practice of multiple visit RCT results in lack of adequate clinical time to complete the treatment in a single visit or the cause might be that the clinician wants to wait till the pain and other symptoms completely subsides before proceeding with obturation of the canal system. At times patients prefer extraction over root canal therapy due to the cost factor. Costs related to RCT are still debatable as patients often stress that they are high of cost. Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents are willing to pay the required amount just so that they can avoid tooth loss. The study result indicates the increased awareness among people about root canal treatment. In case of toothache, for which people visited dentists, extraction was the other choice of treatment for root canal therapy.

CONCLUSION:

An increased awareness about root canal therapy among people has been observed. This survey shows that the clinicians even now use multiple visit procedure for the completion of the treatment. Patients visit the clinic only at the time of problem, mainly due to toothache. Clinical visit on a regular basis will reduce the possibilities of severe infection or problems.

REFERENCES:

1. N. Mehata, D. Raisingani, S.Gupta, M. Sharma. Endodontic Trends: Where We Are And Where We Should Be-A Survey Report. People’s Journal of Scientific Research. July 2013.Vol.6 (2) : 30-37

2. Magdalena Janczarek, Maria cieszko-Buk, Teresa Bachanek, renaTa chałas Survey-based research on patients’ knowledge about endodontic treatment. Pol J Public Health 2014; 124 (3): 134-137.

3. Neha Sisodia, Sharda Yadav,Tanu Nangia , Preetinder Singh, Manisha Yadav, HP Singh. Dental Patients’ Knowledge and Attitude towards Endodontics– A Survey. Journey of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science 2015; 05 (01): 80-83

Received on 30.03.2016 Modified on 22.04.2016

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2016; 9(7):779-781.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2016.00149.9