NCT07413276

Prospective Evaluation of Clinical Endodontic Performance Assessment Methods

Self- Assessment of Clinical Endodontic Performance by Dental Students Using Two Distinct Rotary File Systems: A Prospective Cohort Study

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 201 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Aristotle University Of Thessaloniki · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This prospective cohort study evaluates dental students' self-assessment of clinical endodontic performance and compares it with independent evaluations conducted in a dental education clinical setting. Endodontic treatments are performed by undergraduate dental students using two distinct rotary file systems selected according to routine clinical practice. Students' self-assessments are prospectively collected using a structured questionnaire and compared with evaluations performed by two experienced evaluators with access to clinical and radiographic information, considered the reference standard, as well as by two different experienced evaluators using radiographic information only. Secondary analyses examine whether assessment outcomes differ according to the rotary file system used. The null hypothesis is that there is no difference between dental students' self-assessments and reference standard evaluations of endodontic treatment quality, and that assessment outcomes do not differ according to the rotary file system used.

Detailed description

This prospective cohort observational study examines dental students' self-assessment of clinical endodontic performance in a dental education clinical setting and compares these assessments with independent evaluations. Endodontic treatments are performed by undergraduate dental students as part of routine clinical practice under standard supervision. Treatments are carried out using one of two distinct rotary file systems selected according to routine clinical practice, without assignment by the study protocol. Following completion of each endodontic treatment, operators prospectively complete a structured self-assessment questionnaire evaluating the quality of their clinical performance. These self-assessments are compared with evaluations performed by experienced external evaluators. Two experienced evaluators assess each case using both clinical and radiographic information and serve as the reference standard, while two different experienced evaluators perform an assessment based on radiographic information only. The primary objective is to evaluate the agreement between dental students' self-assessments and the reference standard evaluation of endodontic treatment quality. Secondary objectives include assessment of agreement between radiographic-only and reference standard evaluations, as well as examination of whether assessment outcomes differ according to the rotary file system used across operator self-assessments and independent evaluations.

Conditions

• Root Canal Therapy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Not applicable- observational study	No study-defined intervention; treatments were performed as part of routine clinical care.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-01-30
• Primary completion: 2026-04-01
• Completion: 2026-04-01
• First posted: 2026-02-17
• Last updated: 2026-02-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Greece