Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the identification of middle mesial (MM) canals in extracted permanent first and second mandibular molars before and after executing a troughing technique with high magnification. Sample consisted of 105 mandibular molars. After gaining access to the pulp chamber and cleaning the chamber floor, root canals were detected in three different stages. The initial location was performed under direct viewing without magnification. In the second stage, a dental operating microscope was employed at 12 magnification. If the MM canal was not observed, a standardized troughing technique was executed with the use of an ultrasonic tip between the mesiobuccal and mesiolingual canals under magnification. Statistical differences in the frequency of MM canals before and after troughing were determined using McNemar's test, with the significance level set at 5%. No significant increase in the identification of the MM canal was found when comparing observations before (9.52%) and after (12.38%) the troughing technique under high magnification. However, viewing under magnification and the execution of troughing significantly increased the location of the MM canal (12.38%) when compared to viewing without magnification (3.81%) (p<0.01). The troughing technique with the aid of a dental operating microscope significantly improved the identification of MM canals compared to viewing without magnification. Troughing is a safe, minimally invasive procedure that benefits the treatment of mandibular molars.
Highlights
Knowledge regarding the root canal anatomy is one of the most important aspects of achieving successful endodontic treatment [1]
The present results suggest no significant difference in locating the middle-mesial canal before and after troughing when magnification is used with a dental operating microscope
Among the 105 mandibular specimens, 50.48% were first molars and 49.52% were second molars, enabling the evaluation of whether the prevalence of MM canals is associated with the type of molar examined
Summary
Knowledge regarding the root canal anatomy is one of the most important aspects of achieving successful endodontic treatment [1]. Understanding all the particularities of the root canal system is a real challenge due to the highly complex internal morphology of human teeth [2,3,4]. Mandibular molars usually have three root canals: one distal and two mesial (mesiobuccal [MB] and mesiolingual [ML]) canals [2,3,5]. This group of teeth exhibits considerable anatomic diversity and can have two canals in the distal root or, less often, three or four canals [6]. Micro computed tomography (micro-CT) is a useful tool to study root canal morphology and it is an accurate and contemporary method of detecting MM canals [8]. Micro-CT is not available in the clinical practice yet [12]
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