Furcation Lesions in the Dental Practice: a Survey

Introduction: Furcation lesions are a common symptom of moderate or severe periodontitis. Making an accurate diagnosis and conducting the proper treatment is a challenge in dentistry. Aim: Analyse the competence of the Bulgarian dentists concerning the diagnosis and treatment of furcation lesions. Material and methods An anonymous survey among 150 dentists about the knowledge and the use of furcation lesion diagnostic methods and therapeutic approaches was conducted. Results: For Class I furcation lesions, only 32.9 % of the dentists would employ odontoplasty. For Class II furcation lesions - only 9.4 % would use regenerative therapy. For Class III furcation lesions - only 1/3 of the respondents would perform resective periodontal surgery, odontoplasty, or extraction. Conclusion: Additional training to establish the exact diagnostic and treatment of furcation lesions is necessary. This will result in better treatment of the periodontitis. Keywords: furction lesions, odontoplasty, regenerative therapy, diagnosis/furcation lesions