PERF
PERF, or the Pacific Endodontic Research Foundation, is a non-profit teaching and
research foundation dedicated to improving the standards of the endodontic specialty.
A charitable foundation, PERF has been at the forefront of endodontics since it
was founded by TDO founder and director Dr. Gary Carr in 1993. Dr. Carr’s development
of the technique of ultrasonic root end preparation came out of PERF, as well as
his groundbreaking work with a surgical microscope, which resulted in the establishment
of the new field of “Microscopic Endodontics.”
In 2001 Microscopic Endodontics became required training for postgraduate students
in order to become certified. Ironically, most endodontists were initially skeptical
about introducing the microscope to the operatory. To cultivate appreciation for
this radically new way of working, PERF personally trained over 2,000 endodontists
and endodontic assistants over the past 15 years. The eventual acceptance of this
change has dramatically improved the safety and success rate of endodontic surgeries
for thousands of people around the world.
More recently, a smaller subset of TDO clinicians has initiated the TDO Outcomes
Project. This trial consists of 35 endodontists treating nearly 2,000 patients who
will be treated and recalled for 5 years to determine if there is a difference in
outcomes between one- and two-visit endodontic treatments. Entirely funded by TDOers
and their patients, The TDO Outcomes Project is the first multi-centered randomized
control clinical trial in the history of endodontics.