Page 129 - 7. FINAL draft Compendium 2019 2020_22072022

AN ENDODONTIC PRACTICES AMONG GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS IN KUCHING,
SARAWAK
NMRR-13-1793-18254

Kong LL

Objective: This study aimed to gather qualitative and quantitative information on the
nature of non-surgical endodontic treatment carried out by General Dental Practitioners
(GDPs) in Kuching, Sarawak. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional postal survey (self-
administered questionnaire) was conducted on all registered government and private
GDPs in Kuching. Simple descriptive statistics were reported. The data was further analysed
with Chi-squared test for any significant difference (p<0.05) between the registered
government and private GDPs, with respect to some of the treatment variables
investigated. Results: The overall response rate was 78.6% (95% government; 50% private).
It was found that 20.7% of respondents did not take pre-operative radiographs routinely,
64% using sodium hypochlorite irrigant and only 5.7% of them routinely used rubber dam.
Of those who indicated not using rubber dam routinely, there was 47% used sodium
hypochlorite as irrigant (potential hazard). Routine use of chelating agents was fairly
substantial (28%). Open drainage was practiced by a quarter of the respondents. Some
GDPs reportedly used formaldehyde-releasing dressing and sealer, e.g. formocresol (6%)
and AH Plus (21%). The most popular obturation method was cold lateral condensation
(64.4%), with a trend towards warm obturation methods. There was significant association
between private practice and the use of digital radiography, rotary instrumentation and
adjunctive irrigation devices (χ², p<0.05). There was an observed trend for private
practitioners to carry out molar endodontics and retreatment procedures. The private
practitioners were also significantly satisfied with their current endodontic techniques
compared to their government counterparts (χ², p<0.05). Conclusions: On performing the
non-surgical endodontic treatment, it was found that the majority of practitioners using
sodium hypochlorite irrigant, less than 10% used rubber dam and fairly substantial of
practitioners did not take routine pre-operative radiographs.

Keywords: non-surgical endodontic treatment, general dental practitioner

Published in Sarawak Health Journal, 2020 (7)
Dr Kong Lik Lin
Restorative Dentistry Unit
Petrajaya Dental Clinic Kuching
Sarawak State Health Department
Ministry of Health Malaysia

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