Pattern of Endodontic Treatment among Nigerian Adults: A Single Centre Study

Objective: To determine the pattern and frequency of root canal treatments (RCTs) performed among patients seen at a tertiary hospital in North-eastern Nigeria. Material and Methods: A retrospective epidemiological survey using hospital records of patients that had RCTs done over a 5-year period. Case record forms (CRFs) were used as tools of data collection from patient records to record demographic and clinical information such as age, gender, tooth involved, diagnosis and tooth treated. Students t test and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare mean root-treated teeth by gender and age group respectively. Results: A total of 321 RCTs were carried out on 256 patients, ranging from 1 to 4 teeth (mean, 1.3 +/- 0.6 [SD]) teeth per patient. The frequency and mean number of RCTs carried out were not significant for age (p = 0.16) and gender (p = 0.78). The lower first molar was the most root-treated tooth (20.9%), and overall, dental caries (84.4%) was the most predominant etiology of pulpal and periradicular disease necessitating RCT. Forty-two percent of the RCTs were carried out due to acute apical periodontitis. Conclusion: Gender and age group did not affect the frequency of RCTs performed, and majority of the root canal treatments were due to dental caries and its sequelae.