Prevalence of Root Canal Treatment During Orthodontic Treatment: A Retrospective Five-Year Follow-Up

Background: Orthodontic and endodontic treatments are commonly studied. It has been advocated that orthodontic treatment can cause an impact on endodontically treated teeth, and root canal therapy (RCT) during orthodontic intervention can cause a halt in treatment, thus prolonging the treatment duration. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of RCT among patients subjected to orthodontic treatment. Materials and methods: The present retrospective study was done on 814 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. The clinical and radiographic records were assessed for all patients, and evidence of RCT was calculated. The data were obtained about gender, type of teeth involved, and diagnosis of the condition. Results: Out of those 658 patients who underwent orthodontic treatment in the past five years, 89 (13.53%) had undergone RCT, with the mean age being 21.38 years. A statistically significant difference (p<0.05) was found between both genders concerning diagnosis. A maximum of 24.7% of cases subjected to RCT were right mandibular first molar, followed by left maxillary first molar, and left mandibular first molar, with a statistically insignificant difference (p>0.05) between both genders concerning the type of tooth involved. Conclusion: A significant rate of prevalence of RCT was observed among the patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, mainly involving molars. Males showed more incidence of RCT of teeth among patients subjected to orthodontic treatment. Thus, patients need to be evaluated for RCT before initiating orthodontic treatment.