Frequency and distribution of root filled teeth and apical periodontitis in a Jordanian subpopulation

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of apical periodontitis and endodontic treatment in a Jordanian subpopulation. Study design. Digital panoramic radiographs of 294 patients who were assessed at Caritas Association between January and September 2008 were evaluated. The coronal and periapical status of all visible teeth were evaluated according to the criteria proposed by de Moor et al. Results. Of the 294 subjects assessed, 83.7% had apical periodontitis and 63.3% had endodontically treated teeth. Of the 7,390 teeth assessed, 11.6% had apical periodontitis and 5.7% were endodontically treated. A correlation was found between apical periodontal lesions and endodontically treated teeth. Endodontic treatment was inadequate in 72.4% of the endodontically treated teeth, of which 87.0% had apical periodontitis. No difference in the number of endodontically treated teeth or the presence of apical periodontitis was found between male and female subjects (P>.05). Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that there is a relatively higher prevalence of apical periodontitis compared with those of many other countries. High percentage of endodontically treated teeth was inadequate and associated with periapical pathosis, indicating a poor quality of endodontic treatment. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2011;111:e59-e65)