Preliminary insights: exploring irrigation practices during endodontic treatment among general dental practitioners in Malaysia

Objective(s) This questionnaire study aimed to analyse the irrigation knowledge and current trends in irrigation practice during endodontic treatment among general dental practitioners (GDPs) in Malaysia.Materials and methods A three-part, self-administered questionnaire with multiple-choice questions was distributed to dentists in Malaysia. The survey comprised three sections: demographic data; irrigant selection and protocol; and other irrigation practices. Knowledge questions were marked based on a recommended answer by endodontists and the scores were analysed among various groups having different years of experience using the Kruskal-Wallis test.Results Out of 172 responses, the mean knowledge score of all respondents was 12.92 (standard deviation = 2.774) out of a possible total score of 18. For the scores of groups of practitioners with different years of experience, the Kruskal-Wallis test showed p = 0.069. Sodium hypochlorite appeared as the most used irrigant. Most respondents routinely practised smear layer removal using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Antibacterial capability and tissue dissolution were the main factors in irrigant selection. In total, 65.6% of the GDPs claimed to change their irrigation protocol to suit different pulpal and periapical diagnoses. There was considerable variation regarding the type of irrigants used, irrigation protocol, concentration, volume, time spent for irrigation, irrigation needle usage and additional adjunct methods used.Conclusion(s) Respondents of the survey were following the recommended irrigation practices in terms of irrigant selection but there is scope for improvement in other aspects of irrigation practice. Further investigation with a larger sample size is needed for more robust conclusions.