Abstract:
Long term effects of root canal therapy (RCT) have remained the subject of numerous clinical researches. The final coronal restoration, patient selection, operator abilities, patient age, specialty, affiliations of dental practitioners, and various clinical procedures, all have a significant impact on the outcome of root canal treated tooth. The purpose of this investigation was to determine dental practitioner’s opinions, techniques, and materials used for the restoration of endodontically treated teeth (ETT) in Pakistan. A comprehensive nationwide survey regarding treatment strategies of ETT, on the post types and material used for core foundations were distributed either by email or by hard copies to the dentists in different parts of Pakistan (Urban and Rural). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the responses to the questions. A total of 2000 participants were included in the survey, the response rate was 84.45%, 69.6% of them were male, and 30.4% were female. A response rate of 1:1 was achieved in both urban (50%) and rural (50%) areas.  Out of the surveyed dentists, seventy-five percent of dental practitioners considered post placement for almost every post-endodontic restoration of ETT, whereas 70% preferred prefabricated fiber posts exclusively. Composite resin (65%) was preferred for the core foundation, followed by glass ionomer cements (GICs) (30%). The desired material for post cementation was primarily dual polymerized adhesive resin cement cure resin composite (50%), followed by GIC (35%). Within the limitations of this survey-based investigation among dental practitioners in Pakistan, it was concluded that the treatment strategies of ETT are in accordance with the current state of evidence-based knowledge amongst dental practitioners in urban as well as rural areas and that the rural areas had limited access to the materials that reinforces the ETT.
Keywords: Endodontically-treated teeth (ETT); Post and Core; Dental Practitioners; Restoration strategies