Trial of a Practical Test for Root Canal Treatment in Basic Endodontic Training at Aichi Gakuin University

• Published in: The Japanese Journal of Conservative Dentistry Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 125 - 132
• Main Authors: Kazuyoshi, SUZUKI, Ichiro, IMAIZUMI, Kyoko, INAMOTO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society of Conservative Dentistry 2021; 特定非営利活動法人 日本歯科保存学会
• Subjects: basic training; practical test; root canal treatment; 基礎実習; 技能試験; 根管処置
• ISSN: 0387-2343; 2188-0808
• DOI: 10.11471/shikahozon.64.125

Purpose: Aichi Gakuin University conducts basic phantom training in endodontics for fourth-year students in the School of Dentistry to allow them to acquire necessary basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes for the treatment of pulpal and periradicular diseases. Currently, the assessment of students’ basic training performance is mainly based on product evaluation; however, process evaluation and/or formative evaluation of students’ treatment techniques are also important. Therefore, we introduced a practical root canal treatment test as part of basic endodontic training to verify students’ techniques in using hand stainless-steel files. Methods: The subjects were fourth-year students in the School of Dentistry who participated in basic endodontic training: 138 in 2018 and 132 in 2019. The task was to enlarge and prepare the root canal of a maxillary anterior tooth using K-files and H-files with a standard technique. The test time was 5 minutes. One instructor assessed the skills of each student. Immediately after the test, the instructor provided each student with feedback. The students were asked to complete a questionnaire about the practical test at the end of the basic training. Results: The assessment by the instructors was generally good, averaging 11.3 points in 2018 and 12.2 points in 2019 out of 14 points. In response to the question “Was this practical test useful?”, more than 70% of the students (71.0% in 2018, 81.1% in 2019) said that it was “useful”. In response to the question “Was this practical test helpful for confirming your hand file technique?”, 44.5% in 2018 and 56.1% in 2019 answered “extremely helpful”, and 38.7% in 2018 and 33.3% in 2019 answered “helpful”. Regarding the feedback from the instructor, 84.8% in 2018 and 74.2% in 2019 considered that it was “very appropriate”. Conclusion: We were able to verify all fourth-year students’ hand file techniques in a way that could not be assessed by the Pre-Clinical Clerkship Objective Structured Clinical Examination. We were also able to provide each student with feedback. A practical test for root canal treatment in basic training may be useful for students, allowing them to consolidate the necessary basic skills in clinical practice.