Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Dec 2004)
Root canal morphology of mandibular premolars
Abstract
Background and Objective: Missed canals are one of the main reasons of root canal treatment failure of mandibular premolars. The dentist must have a thorough knowledge of the morphology of the root canal before he/she can successfully treat a tooth endodontically. The aim of this study was to describe the internal anatomy of the mandibular premolars in order to reduce the rate of failures in endodontic treatment of mandibular premolars. Methods: In this in-vitro study, 200 extracted human mandibular first and second premolars were collected. The teeth were decalcified canals were cleared and colored by hematoxylin in order to determine the number of root type of canals according to Vertucci’s classification. Findings: The mandibular first premolar had one canal at apex in 88% of the teeth examined (Type I: 86%, type II: 2%, type III: 0%) and two canals at apex in 12% of the teeth examined (Type IV: 3%, type V: 8%, type VI: 1%, type VII: 0%). The mandibular second premolar had one canal at apex in 92% of the teeth examined (Type I: 90%, type II: 2%, type III: 0%) and two canals at apex in 8% of the teeth examined (Type IV: 5%, type V: 2%, type VI: 1%, type VII: 0%). Conclusion: According to high prevalence of 2 canals in our study, it is necessary to look for an extra canal during the access cavity preparation both directly and by using radiographs at 2 different angles.
