Farhan Raza Khan, Sadia Mahmud, Munawar Rahman.
Comparison of Knowledge regarding Endodontic Materials and Techniques among Dentists Employed at Dental Institutions and Private Practices in Karachi, Pakistan.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;24(1):11-6.

BACKGROUND: With establishment of number of dental teaching institutions in Karachi, a substantial amount of dental care is presently provided in these dental institutions as opposed to private clinics. Since, there is a difference in the two settings; it was imperative to compare the pattern of endodontic services provided by the clinicians employed in these settings. OBJECTIVE: To compare the knowledge regarding endodontic materials and techniques among dentists employed at dental institutions and private practices in Karachi. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional study was planned and data was collected from the academic institutions and the selected dental practices. The teaching group comprised of 71 dentists while non-teaching group had 97 subjects. A structured, self-administered questionnaire comprising 11 questions was used. Chi square test was applied to asses, if their knowledge and decision making is different between the groups. The level of significance was kept at 0.05. RESULTS:The response rate among academic group was 94.67% while in the non-academic group it was 44.1%. Nearly 28% teaching dentists reported performing retrograde endodontics for failed anterior root canals compared to only 4% non-teaching dentists. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups of dentists for selection of endodontic sealer, method of gaining retention on root treated teeth and crown lengthening decisions (p<0.001). CONCLUSION:The material and technique selection in endodontics was significantly different between the two groups of dentists. KEY WORDS: Endodontics, dental materials, endodontic techniques, teaching dentist, dental institutions, private practice.

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