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In many clinical cases a dentist may feel certain when for example diagnosing, deciding on treatment, or assessing the prognosis—in other cases many dentists may feel a degree of doubt or uncertainty. This paper aims to explore the philosophical concept of uncertainty and its different dimensions, using the condition “persistent apical periodontitis associated with a previously root filled tooth” as an example. Acknowledging that uncertainty exists in any clinical situation can be perceived as uncomfortable, as some might regard it as a weakness. Whilst some types of uncertainty met in dental practice can be addressed and reduced, there are other types which are inevitable and must be accepted. To make sound decisions, it is pertinent that the dentist reflects on and values the consequences of uncertainty. In this paper, a conceptual model is presented by which the dentist can identify the type of uncertainty in a clinical case, making it possible to decide on a strategy on how to manage the uncertainty and its possible consequences, with the aim to support the dentist's care for their patients. The understanding that uncertainty exists and the ability to acknowledge and be comfortable with it when making decisions should be addressed throughout our professional career, and thus ought to be developed during undergraduate education. Some suggestions on how teachers could target this are given in the paper.

Headline This paper is concerned with uncertainties and decision making in endodontics. Uncertainties are of different kinds; risk, fundamental uncertainty, ignorance and indeterminacy. The various types of uncertainties that are involved in the process of clinical making decisions are briefly reviewed in case of an injured vital pulp, a necrotic pulp with apical periodontitis and finally a root-filled tooth with a persistent apical lesion.

Dentists often experience uncertainty when deciding on the most effective treatment for a particular patient. There are various sources of uncertainty and different strategies for coping with it, such as reducing or accepting it and learning how to make decisions despite feeling uncertain. The overall objectives of the thesis are to contribute with information that reduces uncertainty regarding the treatment of cariously exposed pulps in young permanent teeth and to improve dental education to ensure that future dental students manage well despite uncertainty. By means of a systematic review and a model analysis, the thesis evaluates the available evidence and cost-effectiveness of a pulp capping procedure compared to a root canal treatment to reduce the uncertainty regarding the cost-effectiveness of treatments for young permanent teeth with vital pulps exposed by caries. The thesis also addresses the acceptance of uncertainty. A reflection exercise was developed and tested in a group of dental students. Prompts from an established model were used to stimulate the students to write reflections during the risk assessment of a root-filled tooth. The effect of the reflections on the student’s awareness of and comfort with uncertainty was explored with a repeated questionnaire. The written reflections were analyzed with a qualitative method to explore how dental students reflected on clinical experience in relation to uncertainty. In the systematic review, the success rate for pulp capping in children and adolescents varied between 64 and 100 percent in the included studies. The model indicated that pulp capping procedures are cost-effective compared to root canal treatment in teeth with pulp exposure due to caries. Fewer teeth were extracted after a pulp capping during the 9 years the patients were followed in the model and the cost for the initial treatment and follow-up treatments during this time period was lower compared to a root canal treatment. The reflection exercise had an effect on the students’ responses to the questions regarding how certain they believed an experienced colleague would feel, and how certain they felt of their capacity to handle the case. Most students did not state that they felt certain about assessing the risk for exacerbation of apical periodontitis in root-filled teeth but felt certain of their own capacity to handle the case, as well as comfortable with their ability to handle the situation and do their best for the patient. Three themes about experience and lack of experience were identified in the reflections: “the meaning of clinical experience”, “assumed differences regarding assessment” and “relating to the same risk factors”. The following conclusions were drawn from the four studies: For children and adolescents with pulp exposure due to caries, pulp capping procedures are cost-effective compared to root canal treatment, but there is a lack of prospective studies concerning root canal treatment. Moreover, the existing studies on pulp capping procedures are of low quality. Most final-year dental students participating in a reflection exercise did not feel certain of their risk assessment of root-filled teeth but still felt certain of their capacity to handle the situation, as well as comfortable with their ability to do the best for the patient. The students believed that clinical experience leads to certainty even when the scientific evidence is lacking and experts who meet students have a great responsibility to be transparent with their own uncertainty.