Non-Cochrane · prognostic · PM40304173
Outcomes of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Chien Philip Y-H, Hosseinpour Sepanta, Peters Ove A, et al. · International endodontic journal · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1111/iej.14246
Findings
19 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients with permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Primary nonsurgical root canal treatment or retreatment by undergraduate students | None (success versus failure counts; no comparator) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Overall | RD 0.43 [0.40, 0.46] GRADE not reported 11 studies · 2065 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Preoperative vital pulp diagnosis | Preoperative necrotic pulp | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Vital pulp | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 87.8 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 329 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Preoperative vital pulp diagnosis | Preoperative necrotic pulp | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Necrotic pulp | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 62.2 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 442 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Preoperative vital pulp diagnosis | Preoperative necrotic pulp | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Necrotic pulp | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 65.6 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 442 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Preoperative vital pulp diagnosis | Preoperative necrotic pulp | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Vital pulp | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 87.1 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 329 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Absence of preoperative periapical lesion | Presence of preoperative periapical lesion | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · No preoperative periapical lesion | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 86.8 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 477 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Absence of preoperative periapical lesion | Presence of preoperative periapical lesion | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Preoperative periapical lesion present | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 56.3 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 294 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Absence of preoperative periapical lesion | Presence of preoperative periapical lesion | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Preoperative periapical lesion present | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 55.8 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 294 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Absence of preoperative periapical lesion | Presence of preoperative periapical lesion | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · No preoperative periapical lesion | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 87.1 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 477 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Premolars | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 79.4 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 216 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Anterior teeth | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 82.2 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 202 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Anterior teeth | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 82.2 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 202 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Molars | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 68.7 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 351 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Molars | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 68.7 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 351 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Anterior teeth | Molars (premolars also reported) | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Premolars | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 79.4 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 216 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Maxillary teeth | Mandibular teeth | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Maxillary teeth | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 76.8 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 436 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Maxillary teeth | Mandibular teeth | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Mandibular teeth | Unweighted pooled success rate (%) 72.1 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 335 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Maxillary teeth | Mandibular teeth | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Mandibular teeth | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 73.1 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 335 participants |
| Roots of permanent teeth treated by undergraduate dental students | Maxillary teeth | Mandibular teeth | Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) 6 months to 8 years follow-up · University dental school student clinics · Maxillary teeth | Weighted pooled success rate (%) 76.8 GRADE not reported 3 studies · 436 participants |
Included primary studies 11
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cunha 2020 Effect of Endodontic Sealer in Young Molars Treated by Undergraduate Students - A Randomized Clinical Trial. PMID:33237229 | 2020 | 1 other review | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| Azim 2016 The Tennessee study: factors affecting treatment outcome and healing time following nonsurgical root canal treatment. PMID:25582870 | 2016 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success; Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) | not extracted yet |
| Chaisophin 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| da Rocha 2022 Outcome of endodontic treatments performed by Brazilian undergraduate students: 3- to 8-year follow up. PMID:36090508 | 2022 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| Daud 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| De Quadros 2005 Evaluation of endodontic treatments performed by students in a Brazilian Dental School. PMID:16204682 | 2005 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| Mohammad 2023 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| Pettiette 2001 Evaluation of success rate of endodontic treatment performed by students with stainless-steel K-files and nickel-titanium hand files. PMID:11491636 | 2001 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
| Polyzos 2018a Factors Affecting the Outcome of Non-Surgical Endodontic Treatments Performed by Undergraduate Students in a Greek Dental School. PMID:32161863 | 2018 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success; Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) | not extracted yet |
| Polyzos 2018b Quality of Root Canal Fillings Performed by Undergraduate Students and the Related Factors on the Treatment Outcome: A 2- to 5-Year… PMID:32161875 | 2018 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success; Clinical and radiographic treatment success rate (per root) | not extracted yet |
| Wen 2024 Evaluation of quality of root canal therapy performed by predoctoral students on endodontic outcome and quality of life of patients. PMID:38853582 | 2024 | this review only | Clinical and radiographic treatment success | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Effect of root canal filling techniques and materials on endodontic treatment outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. (2026) | 1 | 0.01 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients of all ages and health groups with permanent teeth treated by undergraduate or pre-doctoral students | Permanent teeth (60 to 579 teeth per study; 771 roots in the pooled factor analyses; n=3 studies) |
| Intervention | Primary nonsurgical root canal treatment or nonsurgical retreatment performed by undergraduate students | Nonsurgical root canal treatment by undergraduate students (n=11 studies) |
| Comparison | N/A | None (success versus failure within studies) |
| Outcomes | Clinician-reported radiographic and clinical treatment outcomes (success); patient-reported outcomes and technical quality only studies excluded | Clinical and radiographic success (pooled risk difference, n=11; weighted and unweighted pooled success rates, n=3) |
| Study designs | RCTs, retrospective, prospective, cross-sectional and cohort studies; English only; published 2000 onward | 10 retrospective observational studies and 1 RCT (n=11) |
| Timing | Not specified | Recall 6 months to 8 years |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | NR | Yes | no |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | NR | Partial Yes | no |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | NR | No | no |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | NR | Partial Yes | no |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | NR | Yes | no |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | NR | No | no |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | NR | No | no |
| 8Included studies described in detail | NR | Yes | no |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | NR | RCT: Yes · NRSI: Partial Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | NR | No | no |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | NR | RCT: N/A · NRSI: No | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | NR | No | no |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | NR | No | no |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | NR | Yes | no |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | NR | No | no |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | NR | Yes | no |
| Overall | NR | Critically Low | no |