Abstract

SANTOS, Katia Simone Alves dos; VELOSO, Olga Lanusa Leite; TEMOTEO, Lorenna Mendes  and  BRITO, Lívia Natália Sales. Degree of diagnostic agreement in Endodontics in dental clinics. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2011, vol.59, n.3, pp. 365-371. ISSN 1981-8637.

Purpose To evaluate the skill of dental students to perform a correct interpretation of technical semiotic resources used in endodontic diagnosis as well as their agreement with the hypothetical diagnosis suggested by these students. Methods A total of 49 correctly completed dental records of patients who attended an endodontics clinic during the second half of 2007 and the first half of 2008, were assessed. Results The results showed a high level of diagnostic agreement between the hypotheses suggested by the students and those of the researchers, represented by 71.43% of the cases. They also pointed out a diagnostic error of 80% for the condition of reversible pulpitis, which was mistaken for irreversible pulpitis in 60% of the cases, and for pulp necrosis in 20% of the cases. Conclusion Pulp necrosis was the condition most easily diagnosed by the students, with a percentage of 93.9%, followed by irreversible pulpitis at 27.3%, and reversible pulpitis at 20%. It could be inferred that it is imperative to combine the theoretical basis and clinical expertise as the starting point for successful endodontic therapy.

Keywords : Diagnosis oral; Endodontics; Pulpitis.