Analysis on correlative factors of curative effect of root canal therapy in elderly people

Objective To study the curative effect of root canal therapy in elderly people and the influence of the curative effect.Methods One hundred and twenty-six teeth from 56 elderly people were examined which had received root canal therapy over 2 years.The teeth were divided into 3 groups according to curing time,2～3 years group,4～5 years group and over 6 years group.The curative effects were evaluated based on radiographic assessment by using periapical index (PAI) and clinical examination.Results The successful rate of root canal therapy in elderly people was 72.2% .There were no significant difference among the 3 groups in the successful rate of root canal therapy .Root canal treated teeth with adequate root canal obturation had a higher successful rate than teeth with inadequate obturation ( 82.2% vs 47.2% P 0.05 ).Adequate coronal restoration were associated with lower incidence of apical periodontitis than inadequate restorations ( 25.7% VS 58.4% P 0.05 ) in adequate root canal obturation cases.The successful rate of root canal therapy in post crown teeth was 58.8% and 87.5% in the teeth without post crown treatment except the inadequate obturation cases (P 0.05 ).Conclusion The quality of root filling?coronal restoration and post crown can influence the curative effect of root canal therapy in elderly people.