Time used in endodontic treatment with or without magnifying loupes

Abstract

Objective: To compare the time in performing endodontic treatment with or without the use of magnifying loupes. Method: Patients who required primary endodontic treatment (Root Canal Treatment or RCT) in two clinical trial centres namely University Health Service of The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKU) and the Department of Special Dentistry, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Peking University in Beijing (PKU) were invited to participate in this study. The study was approved by the Independent Review Boards in HKU and in PKU. Three dentists from HKU and three dentists from PKU, forming three pairs of dentists with similar years of clinical experience, carried out the endodontic treatments. One dentist from each pair was trained to use magnifying loupes (2.5X). All six dentists performed RCT according to the same protocol and procedures, and used the same materials, either in a single or in multiple visits. The total treatment time was recorded for each treated tooth. Results: Totally 125 PKU patients, aged 43.8±16.1, and 114 HKU patients, aged 44.8±16.1, were recruited. There were 44 teeth with one canal and 81 teeth with multiple canals treated in PKU; and 51 teeth with one canal and 63 teeth with multiple canals treated in HKU. The treatment time for RCT with and without loupes were 54.6±24.1 min (N=140) and 64.0±41.4 min (N=99) (p=0.045). The treatment time used for RCT on single-canal teeth with and without loupes were 37.6±15.8 min (N=44) and 39.5±21.0 min (N=51); respectively (p=0.609). The treatment time used on multiple-canal teeth with and without loupes were 62.4±23.3 min (N=96) and 90.0±42.0 min (N=48) respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Endodontic treatment time was significantly reduced with the use of magnifying loupes on multiple-canal teeth but not on single-canal teeth.