Does Endodontic Re-Treatment in Primary Teeth Increase the Functional Tooth Retention? A Clinical, Retrospective, University-Based Study

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the longevity of endodontic treatments and the survival of endodontic re-treatments performed in primary teeth. Material and Methods: The sample included endodontic treatments and re-treatments conducted in anterior and posterior primary teeth without sedation or general anesthesia among children attending a university dental service. Information collected retrospectively from clinical records was used for analyzing data. The Kaplan-Meier estimator test was used to analyze the longevity and survival of endodontic treatment and re-treatments, respectively. Results: A total of 73 patients with endodontic therapy in primary teeth were included in the study, and 116 teeth were analyzed. After one year, the longevity of endodontic treatments performed on primary teeth was 65.74% with an annual failure rate (AFR) of 34.2%. From 47 endodontic treatment failures, 14 teeth (29.8%) were endodontically re-treated. When the endodontic re-treatment was considered as survival, the longevity of treatments reached 68.06% with 31.9% of AFR after one year of follow-up. There was a significant increase in functional tooth retention in those patients that received an endodontic re-treatment (p<0.001). Retreatment provided an additional mean survival time of 8.3 months. Conclusion: Endodontic treatments performed in primary teeth presented a limited longevity. Endodontic re-treatment is a more conservative alternative for endodontically treated primary teeth that have failed and significantly increase tooth retention.