Abstract:
Background: Root canal treatment is an essential component of comprehensive dental care, and it is crucial
to ensure high technical quality in root fillings. Several factors can impact the technical quality of root
fillings. Various procedural errors can compromise the quality of root canal treatment and influence the
overall outcome of the procedure. Despite numerous global studies, there has been a lack of study into the
prevalence and factors affecting the quality of root canal filling techniques in Ethiopia and specifically in
our study setting, Jimma. This underscores the urgent need for further research and improvement in this
critical area of dental care.
Objective: To analyse the prevalence quality of root canal filling radiographically and assess factors
affecting root canal treatment at dental clinics in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia.
Methods: In a multi-center facility-based cross-sectional study, the characteristics of subjects and
radiographs of 228 root canals were assessed for the overall quality of RCT. The quality of the root fillings
was evaluated based on the distance between the end of the filling and the radiographic apex, the density of
the filling, and the taper of the root filling. Data was entered into EPI Data version 3.1 and then exported to
SPSS version 20 for analysis. For analysis involved conducting Chi-square tests and binary logistic
regression tests.
Result: The prevalence of roots with overall acceptable root filling was 48.7%. We observed significant
differences in numerous aspects, including teeth type and positions (P.value=0.000), Obturiation level
compared to CEJ (P.value=0.026), presence of missed canal (P.value=0.000), presence of fractured
instrument (P.value=0.002), root canal anatomy (P.value=0.001), root canal location (P.value=0.000), root
canal position (P.value=0.000), root canal curvature (P.value=0.000), operating professional education
(P.value=0.004), and operating dentist work experience (P.value=0.000) observed. In multifactorial
analysis, RCT was more likely to succeed in straight teeth (OR=0.003), unvoid teeth (OR=0.00), acceptable
tapering (OR=106.25), initial treatment (OR=20.28) and acceptable length of root canal filling
(OR=93136.38).
Conclusion: The overall quality of RCT performed was found to be low (less than 50%). Based on the
findings, it is evident that various factors significantly impact the success of root canal treatment. Further
research and consideration of these influencing factors can enhance the success rate of root canal treatments
and contribute to improved overall dental care
