Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jul 28;17(7):e88886.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.88886. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Nonsurgical Retreatment of Endodontically Treated Teeth: A Prospective Cohort Study on Success Rates and Quality of Life

Megna Bhatt  1 , Tanya Seth  1 , Swati Chaudhary  1 , Ketaki Rajguru  2 , Chaitanya S Khalane  3 , Adhishree S Chib  4 , Seema Gupta  5
Affiliations

Nonsurgical Retreatment of Endodontically Treated Teeth: A Prospective Cohort Study on Success Rates and Quality of Life

Megna Bhatt et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Introduction: The present study evaluated the clinical and patient-centered outcomes of nonsurgical retreatment of endodontically treated teeth. The primary goal was to assess the success rate, defined by clinical and radiographic criteria, while the secondary objectives focused on patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes using a validated oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) questionnaire.

Materials and methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted from January 2024 to April 2025 at the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics and included 100 systemically healthy adults (aged 18-60 years) requiring retreatment of endodontically treated teeth. Patients with vertical root fractures, advanced periodontal disease, or non-restorable teeth were excluded. The procedure was performed using current/contemporary endodontic technologies such as rotary files, ultrasonic irrigation, and warm vertical compaction with gutta-percha and root canal sealer. Calcium hydroxide was used as an intracanal medication between visits. Outcomes were assessed six months after permanent restoration via clinical examinations and digital periapical radiographs, categorizing cases as healed, healing, or non-healing. OHRQoL scores were collected preoperatively and one- and six-months post-treatment using a modified questionnaire with a 1-5 Likert scale. Statistical analyses included Friedman's test for OHRQoL scores and Fisher's exact test for success rates with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Results: Of 100 patients, 88 (88%) patients achieved successful outcomes (healed, healing, or non-healing). Maxillary jaw retreatments outperformed mandibular jaw retreatments, and cases with periapical lesions had higher success rates than those without periapical lesions. No demographic or clinical factor significantly influenced the success rate (p > 0.05). Successful cases showed significant OHRQoL improvement (p = 0.001) from baseline (32.13 ± 12.07) to six months (19.40 ± 12.07), while failed cases showed no significant change (p = 0.425).

Conclusion: Nonsurgical root canal retreatment in endodontically treated teeth achieved a high success rate with significant quality-of-life improvements in successful cases, underscoring the efficacy of standardized protocols and advanced technologies.

Keywords: endodontic; quality of life; retreatment; root canal therapy; success.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Informed consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Instititional Ethical Committee of Shri Bankey Bihari Dental College issued approval SBBDC/2023/115. The study was approved by Institutional Ethical Committee, and followed the principles of Declaration of Helsinki. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

References

    1. Endodontic procedures for retreatment of periapical lesions. Del Fabbro M, Corbella S, Sequeira-Byron P, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:0. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Long-term tooth survival and success following primary root canal treatment: a 5- to 37-year retrospective observation. López-Valverde I, Vignoletti F, Vignoletti G, et al. Clin Oral Investig. 2023;27:3233–3244. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Failure of endodontic treatment: The usual suspects. Tabassum S, Khan FR. Eur J Dent. 2016;10:144–147. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Outcomes of nonsurgical retreatment and endodontic surgery: a systematic review. Torabinejad M, Corr R, Handysides R, Shabahang S. J Endod. 2009;35:930–937. - PubMed
    1. Outcome of secondary root canal treatment: a systematic review of the literature. Ng YL, Mann V, Gulabivala K. Int Endod J. 2008;41:1026–1046. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources