Treatment of calcified root canals in elderly people: a clinical study about the accessibility, the time needed and the outcome with a three-year follow-up

Objective: Determination of accessibility, time needed and outcome of endodontic treatment of teeth with calcified root canals in a sample of elderly participants in a private practice limited to endodontics. Background: Due to demographic changes, gerodontology is becoming more and more important, also in the field of endodontology. Elderly patients can show up with severe calcifications of root canals. Root canal treatment, when needed, can be very challenging in these cases. Only few data exist about the treatment of calcified root canals and its outcome, especially in an elderly population. Materials and methods: Forty-one participants (median age: 72 years) needing a root canal treatment were included. The total number of treated teeth was 41 with 114 negotiated root canals. A specialist limited to endodontics performed the treatment in a private practice. Outcome was assessed by applying the periapical index score on the basis of recall radiographs provided by the referring dentists. Likewise, time required to localise the root canals was measured. Results: All root canals have been detected using the operating microscope, and full working length could be established in 90% of the cases. Success rate was 80% after an observation time of 3 years. In three of five teeth, root canals could be localised within 15 min. Conclusion: Calcified root canals of older people treated in this study were all accessible within a maximum of 60 min. The success rate after a follow-up of 3 years was 80%.