Prevalence of Three Rooted Permanent Mandibular First Molars in Haryana (North Indian) Population

BACKGROUND Mandibular first molars typically have two roots but sometimes a supernumerary root presents distolingually called as radix entomolaris (RE). AIM The present study evaluated the prevalence of permanent mandibular first molars featuring a distolingual root in Haryana (North India). MATERIALS AND METHODS Five hundred patients possessing bilateral mandibular first molars were selected for this study. The intraoral periapical radiographs were taken. The radiographs of these patients were evaluated under optimal conditions. A total of 1000 mandibular first molars were screened, and the incidence of three-rooted mandibular first molars, RE and the correlation between left and right side occurrence and between either gender were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The binary logistic regression test and Pearson's Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The prevalence of three-rooted permanent mandibular first molars was 13% of the patients examined and 8.3% of the teeth examined. There was no statistically significant difference between gender and side of occurrence (P ≥ 0.05). The bilateral incidence of a symmetric distribution was 27.6 (18/65) among the RE teeth examined. CONCLUSION RE is considered as an Asiatic trait. The occurrence of this macrostructure in the Haryana (North India) population was found to be 13%. The clinician must thoroughly examine the radiographs before the initiation of endodontic therapy.