European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

AimThe aim is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice on the incidence of pulp stones in maxillary molars among endodontists and general practitioners.IntroductionPulp stones are discrete calcified masses found in the dental pulp tissue or embedded into dentin. Based on their radiographic features, they can be classified into true and false which are located more often in the coronal region of the tooth. True pulp stones are made up of dentine and lined by odontoblasts, whereas the false pulp stones are formed from degenerating cells of the pulp that get mineralized. Materials and MethodsThe sample size is 102 people and a random sampling method is used to minimise bias. Internal validity was a pre tested questionnaire and external experiment and cross verification with existing studies was performed. Data analysis was done in SPSS and Statistical test used is chi square test and dependent variables are demographic data such as gender and experience and independent variables are pulp stones incidence and knowledge.ResultsFrom this survey it was found that 70% were aware about the types of pulp stone, 62% were able to diagnose pulp stones radiographically and 60% encountered pulp stones rarely in maxillary molars.Conclusion
Within the limitations of the study , the prevailing knowledge in regard to the prevalence of pulp stones among endodontists was high when compared to the general practitioners. More awareness can be created among general practitioners about pulp stones. Furthermore, the existing Attitude and practice among respondents was high among endodontists and general practitioners when compared to knowledge.