Longitudinal studies of endodontic treatment are rare. The purpose of this investigation was to study changes in frequency, technical standard and treatment need in a Swedish population with an interval of 5-7 years. The number of endodontically treated teeth in the population increased while the number of periradicular radiolucencies was at about the same level at the second examination. The number of radiolucencies found in endodontically treated teeth was reduced while it was increased in untreated teeth. The number of root fillings ending less than or equal to 2 mm from the apex of the tooth as well as fillings with a proper seal had increased at the second examination, but still only 40.2% ended less than or equal to 2 mm from the apex of the tooth and 59.1% of the root fillings were judged to have a proper seal. It was concluded that a great need for endodontic treatment existed in the population examined. A slight improvement in the quality of the treatment was evident at the second examination. However, the technical standard was still poor and obviously affected the outcome of the treatment. It is the opinion of the authors that endodontic treatment methods should be simplified as much as possible in an effort to improve the technical quality of the treatment. The prognosis of endodontic treatment would then improve as well.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the frequency and technical standard of endodontic treatment in a Swedish population. The material consisted of full‐mouth radio‐graphic surveys from 200 patients treated by general practice dentists, and the radiographs were analyzed by two observers. Thirteen percent of the teeth had been endodontically treated. Periradicular radiolucencies were found in 5.2% of the teeth and 26.4% of the endodontically treated teeth had such periradicular radiolucencies. In nearly half of the root‐filled teeth, the root filling ended more than 2 mm from the apex, and only 56.3% were judged to have a proper seal. It is concluded that the need for endodontic treatment is great and the technical standard of the root fillings is poor. This strongly indicates that there is a need for standardized endodontic treatment methods and for more specialists in endodontics in Sweden.

A study was made of the interobserver variation between 2 observers surveying a) the frequency and b) the technical standard of endodontic treatment. The material consisted of 20 sets of full‐mouth radiographs. Before the examination the observers were calibrated and strict criteria were defined. The agreement between the 2 observers was high for most of the variables studied and superior to that found in several previous investigations. While interobserver errors may be impossible to avoid in interpretation of endodontic treatment from dental radiographs, it is concluded that they may be reduced by calibration of observers and by establishing strict criteria for evaluation.

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