Factors influencing root canal retreatment strategies by general practitioners and specialists in <scp>A</scp>ustralia

Abstract

General practitioners and specialists vary their root canal retreatment strategies according to quality of root filling and type of coronal restoration. Whilst all clinical scenarios could be managed by contemporary endodontic techniques, teeth were still treatment planned for extraction and replacement with an implant. This may be due to the fact that implants are heavily marketed by the dental industry and with more stringent outcome criteria applied to the assessment of root canal treatment compared with implant placement, evidence-based decision-making may be distorted. Future emphasis should be placed on changing practitioners' attitudes towards the retention of salvageable teeth by contemporary endodontic measures.