Avaliação da Qualidade dos Tratamentos Endodônticos em Centros de Especialidades Odontológicas da Grande Natal-RN

Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade tecnica dos tratamentos endodonticos realizados em Centros de Especialidades Odontologicas (CEOs) da Grande Natal/RN no periodo de 2006 a 2008. Metodo: Estudo transversal com amostra de 282 dentes submetidos a tratamento endodontico ha pelo menos um ano. Os participantes da pesquisa foram avaliados atraves de exames clinicos e radiograficos. Os dentes tratados endodonticamente foram examinados por uma especialista em endodontia, que comparou e analisou as radiografias realizadas ao final do tratamento e anexadas ao registro do paciente no CEO com tomadas radiograficas atuais. Os dados coletados foram apresentados de forma descritiva atraves de numeros absolutos, percentuais e medias. Para a determinacAEo da associacAEo entre as variaveis independentes e as variaveis dependentes realizou-se analise bivariada atraves do teste do qui-quadrado e exato de Fisher. Resultados: Dos elementos dentarios examinados 79,8% apresentaram-se sem lesAEo periapical, 84,4% sem dor, 8,2% fraturados e 3,2% extraidos. As obturacaes dos canais encontravam-se adequadas em 81,2%. Com relacAEo ao limite longitudinal, 135 (47,9%) das obturacaes foram consideradas com limite ideal, 50 (17,7%) sobreobturados e 88 (31,2%) subobturados. A persistencia de lesAEo periapical esteve associada ao estado periapical inicial (p Objective: To evaluate the technical quality of the endodontic treatments performed at Dental Specialty Centers (DSC) in the Greater Natal, RN, Brazil, between 2006 and 2008. Method: A cross-sectional design was used with a sample of 282 teeth with endodontic treatments completed at least 1 year before the study. The participants were subjected to clinical and radiographic. The endodontically treated teeth were examined by an endodontist who compared and analyzed the radiographs taken at the end of the treatment as part of the patient?s documentation at the DSC with the current radiographs. The collected data were presented by descriptive statistics in absolute numbers, percentages and means. Association among the independent and dependent variables was made by bivariate analysis with the chi-square and Fisher?s exact tests. Results: As much as 79.8% of the teeth did not present periapical lesion, 84.4% had no associated painful symptomatology, 8.2% were fractured and 3.2% had been extracted. The root fillings were adequate in 81.2% of the teeth. Regarding the apical limit of root canal filling, adequate filling was observed in 135 teeth (47.9%), overfilling in 50 (17.7%) and underfilling in 88 (31.2%). Persistence of periapical lesion was associated with the initial stage of apical periodontitis (p