Evaluating Root Canal Treatment Quality by Undergraduate Dental Students at Gulf Medical University.

To evaluate the radiographic quality of endodontically treated cases performed by undergraduate dental students at Thumbay dental hospital, Gulf Medical University (GMU) from 2020 to 2022. The sample consisted of 510 randomly selected postoperative periapical radiographs from patient records at the Thumbay dental hospital Gulf Medical University (GMU). Radiographs were from patients who underwent root canal treatment (RCT) performed by 3rd, 4th and 5th year clinical undergraduate dental students. Evaluation criteria included root canal filling (RCF) length, density, taper and the presence of iatrogenic errors. Inter-examiner agreement was measured using a Cohen's kappa test. A comparison of frequency was calculated using the Chi-square test. P-values = 0.05 were considered significant. Adequate length, density, and taper of the root canal fillings was observed in 77.2%, 34%, and 78.6% of cases, respectively. The rate of acceptable quality was higher for teeth treated by 5th -year students (33.3%) compared to those treated by 3rd -year students (20.5%). Density and taper were more adequate in patients treated by 5th -year students (38.6% and 82.1% respectively) compared to 3rd -year student (p= 0.05). Significant differences were observed in procedural errors based on tooth location, with higher percentages in the mandible (23.7%) compared to maxilla. Anterior teeth showed high rates of acceptable quality (36.6%) compared to molars (22.5%). Iatrogenic errors were observed in 19.1% of cases. This study highlights the importance of training dental students to detect and correct procedural errors in root canal procedures at early clinical stage. A notable 29.3% quality improvement achieved with stainless steel K-files, underlines the imperative for enhancing future education approaches to ensure superior results and improved patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]