To survey endodontic specialists in Australia and New Zealand in both private and public sectors re materiel and techniques.
Method:
A paper-based questionnaire addressing choice of endodontic materials and techniques was mailed to all specialists registered with the Australian Dental Board and the NZ Dental Council
Result:
97 surveys were returned from the 126 Endodontists contacted. All respondents routinely use rubber dam isolation and 90% use additional isolation aids. Only 5% of endodontists reported no use of rotary endodontics. Of those who do use rotary instrumentation, 74% reported its use in every case. When hand instrumentation is used, the most common technique applied is the crown-down method. This was also commonly used in combination with other techniques.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents showed a preference for a combination of lateral and vertical filling techniques. In addition, 84% of surveyed endodontists preferred to use a resin based sealer whilst 11% preferred to use a zinc oxide based sealer.
It was found that all respondents used NaOCl in their irrigant regime, most commonly (52%) 4% solution. In addition 85% used supplementary irrigant activation. EDTA and chlorhexdine were other popular irrigants.
Conclusion: Techniques and materials used varied. Most reported using newly introduced methods and materials.