Long‐term survival rate of teeth receiving multidisciplinary endodontic, periodontal and prosthodontic treatments

Abstract

Deciding whether to replace or preserve a compromised tooth, even with emerging trends in implant dentistry, is still a common dilemma for practitioners. This study sought to determine the 3- to more than 10-year survival rate of teeth that had undergone endodontic, periodontal and prosthodontic treatments. A total of 245 teeth in 87 patients were clinically and radiographically evaluated. All the teeth had received crown lengthening surgery by a single periodontist. Root canal therapy and prosthodontic procedures were rendered either by specialists or by experienced general dentists. Numbers of lost teeth were recorded and the criteria for hopeless teeth were defined. Survival rate was determined using the Kaplan-Meier estimator. Clinical indices including pocket depth (PD), bleeding index (BI), C/R ratio, position of the restoration margin relative to the gingival margin (RM-GM) and the presence of intra-canal post were compared between different survival groups (<3, 3-5, 5-10 and >10years) using one-way analysis of variance (anova). Potential predictors of failure were determined using the Cox regression model. The mean±s.d. of 3-, 5-, 10- and 13-year survival rates was 98±1%, 96± 1·6%, 83·1±4·5% and 51·9±14·5%, respectively. The mean PD (P<0·013), as well as C/R ratio in the mesial (P=0·003) and distal (P=0·007) surfaces, was significantly higher in the >10-year-survived teeth. Bleeding index and RM-GM showed no significant differences between the groups. C/R ratio and RM-GM position appeared to be the major determinants of tooth loss. The long-term survival rate of multidisciplinary-treated teeth was 83-98% in this specific sample.