Prevalence of Extra Root Canal Orifices of Maxillary First Permanent Molars in a Saudi Subpopulation Utilizing Microcomputed Tomography

Abstract

To study the prevalence of additional root canal orifices of upper first permanent molars in Saudi subpopulation in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, utilizing micro-computed tomography X-ray (micro-CT). One hundred extracted upper first permanent molars of Saudi patients were included in the study. Micro-CT was used to detect the prevalence of extra root canal orifices of the permanent upper first molars. The evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) images of this study showed that of 100 upper permanent first molars scanned and analyzed, 10.53% had 6 pulp canal orifices, 35.09% had 5 pulp canal orifices, 47.37% had 4 pulp canal orifices and 7.01% had 3 pulp canal orifices. The current data showed the highest prevalence of 4 and 5 root canal orifices compared to 3 and 6 root canal orifices. The knowledge of anatomic variations of teeth before starting root canal treatment can help dentists to detect and manage all root canals successfully.