Examination of the prevalence of periapical lesions and technical qulity of endodontic treatment in a Turkish subpopulation

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of periapical lesions by evaluating the periapical status and to evaluate the relationship between the technical quality of endodontic treatments and presence of periapical lesions in a Turkish subpopulation. Study design. A total of 11,542 teeth of 438 patients were radiographically evaluated. Presence of endodontic treatment and obturation levels, coronal restorations, and degree of root canal curvature angles were noted. Apical status was assessed by the Periapical Index Scores (PAI). The chi(2) test was used for statistical analysis. Results. Among all teeth, 179 (1.55%) had endodontic treatment and 189 (1.63%) had periapical lesions. Of 179 endodontically treated teeth, 68 (37.99%) had periapical lesions. The prevalence of periapical lesions was found to be significantly high among underfilled teeth (P < .001). In most underfilled teeth, the presence of severe curvatures was particularly of interest. Prevalence of inadequate coronal restorations was significantly high among the teeth with periapical lesions, whether endodontically treated or not (P < .001). Conclusions. The findings of the present study indicate that considerable effort should be spent by dental practitioners to improve the technical quality of root canal fillings. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2011; 112:136-142)