Arshad Hasan, Yawar Ali Abidi, Mariam Iqbal, Farhan Raza Khan, Haji Sohail.
A Survey of Knowledge of Dentists in Diagnosing Irreversible Pulpitis.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;19(3):144-7.

OBJECTIVE: Dental caries and its sequel pulpitis, is one of the most common complaint with which the patient attends a dental office. The diagnosis of pulpitis involves distinguishing the two types, i.e.; the reversible and irreversible pulpitis, through objective and subjective testing. This process is usually straightforward but can at times be difficult due to anatomical, physiological and psychological factors. The Purpose of this questionnaire based survey was to find out the ability of dentists in diagnosing irreversible pulpitis. METHODOLOGY: The study design was cross sectional. Two hundred single clinical scenario based questionnaires were distributed among 3 dental colleges. Totally 142 questionnaires were received back. Respondents were the clinical staff (consultants, senior registrar, residents, demonstrator, house officers and final year students) of the 3 dental colleges. The respondents were asked to diagnose the clinical scenario as either reversible or irreversible pulpitis RESULT: Most of the participants (81.7%) gave a wrong diagnosis. Worst response was from the final year student category (88.6%) whereas best response was in the resident category (44.4%). The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The ability of participants in diagnosing the clinical scenario correctly was poor in all categories.

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