Difficulties Faced by Dental Students While Performing Root Canal Treatment

Background: Root canal treatment (RCT) is a meticulous procedure that requires focus and precision while working in a confined space such as the root canal system of the tooth. Clinical-training places emphasis on teaching students the application and the execution of fine psychomotor skills such as working with indirect vision, controlling high-speed motor-driven burs during access cavity preparation, and fine tactile sensation during root canal preparation. Aim: To rate the difficulty level of dental students while performing Root Canal Treatment. Material and methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted between Jan 2016 and April 2016 in a private dental college in Chennai. The inclusion criteria included students who have performed a minimum of 5 root canal treatments. A self administered questionnaire consisting 8 questions was prepared and it consisted of 4 categories. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 students and the details were recorded individually by the interpreter Results: A total of 100 students were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. The difficulty of performing RCT as rated by the students ranges from a minimum of 3.16 to a maximum of 7.52.77.3 % rated endodontic treatment as a difficult procedure while 21.1 % considered root canal treatment as a fairly easy procedure. About 1.6 % of students stated root canal to be a very easy procedure. Conclusion: The present study showed that almost all the students found difficulty in performing any one step in RCT treatment. The endodontic education and training were good among the students and the proper methods to be handled while performing RCT and awareness were also good.