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Aim: To evaluate the quality of previous root canal treatment (RCT) among patients seeking retreatment in order to determine the actual reason for the failures. Materials and Methods: Survey was conducted between January and March 2018, among the patients seeking endodontic retreatment at the Dental Specialist Center in Najran City, KSA. Fifty patients with complaints to their RCT tooth were randomly selected for the study. All the patients were thoroughly examined clinically and teeth were radiographed. All the examinations were done by the same person. Attempt was made to correlate the presenting signs and symptoms to the quality of the past treatment. A well prepared questionnaire was used to record the details of the clinical and radiographic examination. The data collected was used to evaluate the qualification and competency of the clinician to provide RCT of acceptable international standards. Result: In the clinical part, 54% of cases reported with pain, 30% of intact fillings and sign of failure symptoms after few months from the RCT. In the radiographic part, most of cases presented with good obturation, high percentage of peri-apical radiolucency, overfilled, apical and internal resorption. Upto 6% were registered in cases with presence of broken instrument or perforations. All standard deviations were high. Conclusion: The survey revealed very strong correlation between failures of endodontic treatment (FET) and disregard for the fundamental basics among the clinicians. Proper clinical training in dental schools and continuing dental education programmes would certainly improve the quality of RCT provided to the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of ionizing radiation in common radiological investigations, as well as the associated risks, among medical and applied medical sciences students at Majmaah University in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 209 participants who completed an anonymous electronic questionnaire consisting of 21 questions. Participants were categorized based on demographic characteristics and assessed for their awareness and knowledge of radiation and its associated risks. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 24.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Qualitative data comparisons were performed using the Chi-square test, with a p-value of <0.05 considered statistically significant., Results: A total of 209 participants completed the questionnaire, with a nearly equal distribution of males (49.8%) and females (50.2%). Most of the participants were medical students (59.3%). The overall knowledge score had a mean of 2 (SD=2) and a range of 0-7. The overall awareness score had a mean of 3 (SD=2) and a range of 0-6. Male gender and knowledge had a significant association (p=0.022). Applied medical sciences students had a significantly higher awareness level than medical students (p=0.004). There was a significant association between academic level and knowledge level (p=0.025), which was highest among third-year students., Conclusion:  Overall medical and applied medical sciences students' knowledge and awareness of ionizing radiation dose and the health risks associated with it was reported to be low. The results highlight the need to train medical and applied medical sciences students with sufficient radiological education that enable them to adhere to safe practices in the future., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. The Majmaah University for Research Ethics Committee (MUREC) (H-01-R-088) issued approval MUREC-Mar.25/COM-2024/11-8. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Alali et al.)