Knowledge and Practice of Endocrown Restorations Among Dental Students and Dentists in Sirte, Libya

TL;DR

This study assesses dental students and dentists in Libya's understanding and use of endocrown restorations, finding moderate knowledge but limited practical application.

Contribution

The study provides the first evaluation of endocrown knowledge and practice among Libyan dental professionals.

Findings

Most participants believed endocrowns are suitable for molars and offer higher fracture resistance.

Computer-aided design/manufacturing is commonly used for endocrown fabrication.

Over 60% of participants had not cemented an endocrown recently, indicating low clinical adoption.

Abstract

Background

Restoring endodontically treated teeth has long posed a challenge for clinicians. The endocrown (EC) is an innovative and conservative restoration designed for teeth with severely damaged coronal structures. ECs offer performance that is equivalent to or even exceeds that of traditional post-core-crown treatments.

Purpose

This web-based cross-sectional survey aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and practical experience regarding ECs as post-endodontic prostheses among dental students and practitioners in Libya.

Methods

A 22-item structured questionnaire was created using Google Forms and distributed to final-year students, interns, faculty at the College of Dentistry at Sirte University, and practicing dentists in Libya. The sample comprised 290 participants. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: the first assessed demographic variables such as gender, education level, country of graduation, and workplace; the second evaluated knowledge of ECs through 11 questions; and the third focused on EC practice, also comprising 11 questions. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0 (Released 2012; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Results

A total of 50.7% of participants indicated that EC restorations are suitable for molar teeth, 41.4% noted that a butt joint finish line is used for EC preparation, and 66.9% preferred all-ceramic materials for ECs. Nearly 72.8% reported that computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technology is employed for EC fabrication. Additionally, 61.7% agreed that EC designs offer higher fracture resistance compared to conventional crowns. Despite this, 64.5% of participants had not cemented an EC in their clinic in recent years. Significant differences in knowledge and practice regarding ECs were observed across various factors, including gender, education level, country of graduation, and workplace.

Conclusion

Most participants demonstrated an acceptable level of knowledge and practical experience with EC restorations. Therefore, incorporating ECs as a major topic in the postgraduate prosthodontics curriculum is recommended.