Abstract
Keywords: endodontics, dental education, natural tooth, artificial tooth, preclinical endodontic training. 1.INTRODUCTION Endodontic treatment success is affected by the obturation technical quality [1-4]. Since preclinical endodontics is one of the core courses in dental schools, the training provided to undergraduate students is extremely important. [...]there is a potential risk of crossinfection, associated with the use of this model for exercises [7-10]. [...]a recent systematic review comparing natural and artificial teeth reported a scarcity of studies on this subject [12]. [...]our aim was to objectively compare the root canal treatment quality achieved with the practice of using natural and artificial teeth by undergraduate preclinical endodontics students, to determine whether artificial teeth are suitable models for training. 2.MATERIALS AND METHODS The research was reviewed and approved by The College of Dentistry Research Center (CDRC), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (FR 0497). [...]the use of natural teeth is still necessary, since it provides training on more complex and curved canals, that resembles clinical scenarios. [...]within the limitation of this study, the combination of both models would be recommended 5.CONCLUSIONS Artificial teeth are suitable for a preclinical endodontic training model and ensure predictable technical outcomes in comparison with artificial teeth.