radiographic quality of root canal treatment performed by 6th year undergraduate students in mashhad, iran

background: the aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of root canal obturation performed by 6th year undergraduate dental students at the dental school, university of mashhad, iran. materials and methods: a random 200 sample records of patients who received endodontic treatment at the dental school, university of mashhad between 2009 and 2010 was investigated. the quality of root canal fi lling was determined in relation to the adequate density and length of root fi lling. statistical analysis of the data was carried out using statistical package for the social sciences (spss 12.0, spss inc., chicago, il, usa) with chi-square test. p < 0.05 was considered as signifi cant. results: about 38% of teeth fulfi lled the criteria of an acceptable root canal fi lling. adequate length and density of root fi lling was found in 73% and 66% of teeth respectively. there was signifi cant difference between maxillary and mandibular teeth according to the quality (p = 0.009), length (p = 0.039) and density (p = 0.005) of root fi lling. the frequency of root canals with an “acceptable”fi lling was signifi cantly greater in the anterior teeth than in molars. conclusion: the technical quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate dental students was found to be less than ideal. thus, the training course of the students at the preclinic and clinic has to be revised. key words: dental student education, periapical radiograph, root canal treatment, undergraduate student