Avaliação da qualidade do tratamento endodôntico realizado com diferentes técnicas obturadoras

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate, by means of imaging exams, the quality of obturation in multiradicular teeth instrumented and filled with different techniques by dental students. For this, 80 superior human molars extracted for reasons not inherent to the research were selected. The teeth were cleaned and the crowns removed. They were then instrumented by 4 undergratuated dentistry students (20 teeth per student) with with nickel titanium (Ni-Ti) rotary instruments. After instrumentation, 40 teeth were filled by lateral condensation technique and 40 by gutta-percha thermocompaction technique. After instrumentation and root filling, all teeth were submitted to periapical radiography. The images were evaluated by three previously instructed examiners (Endodontics specialists), classifying the quality of the obturation according to the length and homogeneity. To verify intra- and inter-examiner agreement, the weighted Kappa and Kappa test was performed. To verify the association between the quality of the obturation and the different obturation techniques, the chi-square test was used (p <0.05). The kappa and weighted kappa values indicated substantial (0.73 - 0.80) to almost perfect reliability (0.89 - 0.96). There was no association between the length of the obturator material and the obturation technique (p> 0.05). There was a significant association between homogeneity and obturation technique only for the palatal root (p <0.05), with the largest number of non-homogeneous cases detected using the lateral condensation technique. Overall, the quality of root filling performed by dental students was unsatisfactory as to homogeneity, and was not influenced by the filling technique.