What is optimal endodontic care and how can we achieve it? - Professor Ove Peters

Biography

Professor Peters is the Head of Clinical Dentistry & Professor of Endodontics at UQ. Professor Peters joined UQ in 2020 after faculty positions in Heidelberg, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as at the University of California, San Francisco.

Most recently, he was the founding director of the postgraduate endodontic program at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, a professor with tenure and the Chair of the Department of Endodontics at that school.

Abstract

Often times, definitions of endodontic care focus on local disease conditions and neglect the impact of endodontic disease on quality of life and overall health. Related to this, considerations of endodontic treatment outcomes are now turning to patient-centred variables in-line with broader conceptions of oral health.  Estimates suggest that painful pulpal disease may affect 25% or more of the world’s population, while apical periodontitis is reported to have a global prevalence of about 50%. Hence, the burden due to unmet endodontic treatment need is considerable, with reduced quality of life and hindered daily functioning related to pain and tooth loss. While specific quality criteria and competencies for endodontic treatment exist, it is important to remember the primary clinical goals of endodontic care and how these should determine procedures and desired outcomes.  Education of dental specialists comes with a significant cost and therefore limits access to care. Health authorities and educators should prioritize care models with a focus on preventing pulpal disease; this may include dental auxiliaries to manage patients. Conversely, wider access to education is needed to improve the quality of endodontic care delivery when it is required.

This is specifically important when discussing what optimal endodontic care is, when considering procedures used in endodontic treatment.  Obviously, there are multi-level challenges to providing optimal endodontic care globally and potential solutions to facilitating this task for dentists. Consequently, this presentation will review the burden of endodontic disease and how it is related to overall health, including its impact on quality of life. It will discuss the diagnostic criteria and treatment outcomes used in endodontics, and how these determine the procedures undertaken and what is considered successful endodontic care.

Seminar recording