Abstract
Background
Mandibular premolars demonstrate high variability in root canal morphology, especially mandibular first premolars. The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of root canal configurations of mandibular premolars according to Vertucci classification in a Thai population.
Methods
Total of 1159 CBCT images of Thai patients who received radiographic imaging at the Department of Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University in 2017–2018 was evaluated. The data were reported using descriptive statistics and the relationship between the prevalence of the root canal complexities and sex was analyzed using the chi-squared test.
Results
The most common root canal configuration was Vertucci type I, with a 63.1% and 98% prevalence in the mandibular first and second premolars, respectively. More than 98% of mandibular premolars had a single root. The prevalence of a bifurcation was 28.5% and 1.5% in the mandibular first and second premolars, respectively. The prevalence of a trifurcation was 3.2% in the mandibular first premolar. A C-shaped root canal was observed at 23.7% and 0.7% in the mandibular first and second premolars, respectively. The level of branching was mostly found at the middle 1/3 of the root. Bilateral appearance of the same root canal configuration was identified in 80.3% and 95.9% in the mandibular first and second premolars, respectively. There was no relationship between sex and the prevalence of a bifurcation, trifurcation, or C-shaped root canal.
Conclusion
Mandibular first premolars have more root canal complexities than mandibular second premolars. Horizontal tube shift x-ray technique, CBCT, dental operating microscope, and knowledge of root canal configurations have an important role in root canal identification in mandibular premolar with suspected complex root canal morphology.
nth Root extraction: Double iteration process and Newton's method
