Background: Use of magnifying loupe may increase the efficiency of dental care. This clinical trial compared the\ntime in performing non-surgical endodontic therapy with or without the use of a magnifying loupe.\nMethods: Patients who required primary endodontic treatment in clinical trial centres at the University of Hong\nKong (HKU) in Hong Kong and Peking University (PKU) in Beijing were invited to participate in this study. Two HKU\ndentists and 2 PKU dentists, forming 2 pairs of dentists with similar years of clinical experience, performed endodontic\ntreatments according to the same procedures and used the same materials, either in single or multiple visits. They had\nno prior experience with the use of a magnifying loupe. One dentist from each pair was trained to use a magnifying\nloupe (x2.5). The treatment time was recorded.\nResults: Eighty-four PKU patients with a mean age of 42.8 years and 98 HKU patients with a mean age of 46.0 years\nwere recruited in this study. Ninety-six teeth were treated with a magnifying loupe and 86 teeth were treated\nwithout a magnifying loupe. The results showed that treatment time was not associated with age, gender, tooth\nvitality, or the presence of apical radiolucency or sinus tract. The results of ANCOVA revealed the treatment time\nwas associated with the clinic (HKU or PKU), root canal system (single or multiple), presence of preoperative pain,\ntreatment visit (single or multiple), the use of a magnifying loupe, and the experience of the operator.\nConclusion: In this study, the use of a magnifying loupe could significantly reduce the endodontic treatment time
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