RESULTS Application of the Oral Health Impact Profile ( OHIP ) demonstrated that disease of pulpal origin affects quality of life with moderate severity , primarily through physical pain and psychological discomfort , and that RCT results in broad improvement of quality of life .
Satisfaction with RCT is extremely high , but cost is the primary reason for dissatisfaction .
Anxiety and fear affect RCT patients , profoundly influencing their behaviors , including treatment avoidance , and their pain experience .
Fear of pain is " fair " to " very much " prior to RCT .
Pain is widely feared , disliked , and remembered ; however , disease of pulpal origin generally produces moderate , but not severe pain .
RCT causes a dramatic decrease in pain prevalence and severity over the week following treatment .
Survival rates of teeth after RCT are very high ; complication rates are low .
Cost is a barrier to RCT , but initial costs , lifetime costs , cost effectiveness , cost utility , and cost benefit all compare extremely well to the alternatives involving replacement using implants or fixed prostheses .
INTRODUCTION Root canal treatment ( RCT ) success criteria inform us of the path to bony healing and of prognostic factors , but tell little about how the patient perceives , feels , or values RCT .
Patients choose , undergo , and pay for RCT , they live with the result , and inform their community .
The purpose of this narrative review was to appraise patient-centered outcomes of initial non-surgical RCT and nonsurgical retreatment , in adults .
Postoperative Pain after Root Canal Treatment: A Prospective Cohort Study
Aim . To evaluate the incidence and severity of  postendodontic treatment pain ( PEP ) subsequent to root canal treatment ( RCT )  in vital and necrotic pulps and after retreatment . Methodology . A prospect i ve study . Participants were all patients ( n = 274 ) who underwent RCT in teeth with vital pulp , necrotic pulp , or vital pulp that had been treated for symptomatic irreversible pulpitis or who received root canal retreatment , by one clinician , during an eight-month period . Exclusion criteria were swelling , purulence , and antibiotic use during initial treatment . A structured question naire accessed age , gender , tooth location , and pulpal diagnosis . Within 24 h of treatment , patients were asked to grade their pain at 6 and 18 hours posttreatment , using a 1–5 point scale . Results . RCT of teeth with vital pulp induced a significantly higher incidence and severity of PEP ( 63.8 % ; 2.46 ± 1.4 , resp . ) than RCT of teeth with necrotic pulp ( 38.5 % ; 1.78 ± 1.2 , resp . ) or of retreated teeth ( 48.8 % ; 1.89 ± 1.1 , resp . ) . No statistical relation was found between type of pain ( spontaneous or stimulated ) and pulp condition . Conclusion . RCT of teeth with vital pulp induced a significantly higher incidence and intensity of PEP compared to teeth with necrotic pulp or retreated teeth
RESULTS Application of the Oral Health Impact Profile ( OHIP ) demonstrated that disease of pulpal origin affects quality of life with moderate severity , primarily through physical pain and psychological discomfort , and that RCT results in broad improvement of quality of life .
Satisfaction with RCT is extremely high , but cost is the primary reason for dissatisfaction .
Anxiety and fear affect RCT patients , profoundly influencing their behaviors , including treatment avoidance , and their pain experience .
Fear of pain is " fair " to " very much " prior to RCT .
Pain is widely feared , disliked , and remembered ; however , disease of pulpal origin generally produces moderate , but not severe pain .
RCT causes a dramatic decrease in pain prevalence and severity over the week following treatment .
Survival rates of teeth after RCT are very high ; complication rates are low .
Cost is a barrier to RCT , but initial costs , lifetime costs , cost effectiveness , cost utility , and cost benefit all compare extremely well to the alternatives involving replacement using implants or fixed prostheses .
INTRODUCTION Root canal treatment ( RCT ) success criteria inform us of the path to bony healing and of prognostic factors , but tell little about how the patient perceives , feels , or values RCT .
Patients choose , undergo , and pay for RCT , they live with the result , and inform their community .
The purpose of this narrative review was to appraise patient-centered outcomes of initial non-surgical RCT and nonsurgical retreatment , in adults .