Knowledge and awareness of root canal treatment among general public of Arar, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Root canal treatment (RCT) is mainstay nowadays to save the precious natural tooth in the oral cavity. The present study was done to assess the knowledge and awareness of the general public regarding the root canal treatment. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire based survey was distributed to a random sample of the population of Arar, Saudi Arabia. It was done over a period of 3 months. The study was done with the help of specially prepared questionnaire which were validated by doing pilot study. The questionnaire was given to the participants by contacting them personally. The questionnaire used in the study comprised of 13 questions related to need of RCT, antibiotic role in endodontic infections, pain of RCT, etc. Results: A total of 305 participants responded including 221 (72.45%) males and 84 (27.54%) females. Most common age group which responded was 16 to 25 years (29.18%). It was found that 73.77 % participants answered that endodontic infections cannot be resolved only with antibiotics without endodontic treatment, 40.65 % participants answered that tooth becomes weaker with RCT, 50.24 % of the participants responded that two visits were required for treatment, 57.37% preferred specialist for endodontic treatment, 70.81% responded that anxiety was present during the procedure and 65.57% participants experienced pain during or after the treatment. Conclusion: Patients' knowledge and awareness regarding endodontic treatment may influence the decision-making and choice of the treatment. The results of this survey demonstrate the importance of integrating evidence-based practice concepts into teaching curriculum, continuous education courses, and postgraduate studies. However, further studies are necessary to evaluate this trend.