A cone-beam computed tomography study of the root canal morphology of anterior teeth in a Turkish population

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the root and canal morphology of the maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth in a Turkish population by analyzing cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS CBCT images of 417 females and 410 males with a mean age of ranging from 14 to 70 years were examined in this study. A total of 1453 maxillary central incisors, 1504 maxillary lateral incisors, 1523 maxillary canines, 1582 mandibular central incisors, 1603 mandibular lateral incisors, and 1604 mandibular canines were analyzed. The number of root canals and the canal configurations were investigated and then were classified according to Vertucci's classification. The data were analyzed with the Pearson Chi-square test. RESULTS The Type 1 canal configuration was most prevalent in the maxillary anterior teeth (96.8-99.7%). The Types 2, 3, 4, and 5 canal configurations were observed within the range of 0-1.3%, 0-0.8%, 0-0.7%, and 0-1.8%, respectively. In the mandibular anterior teeth, the Type 1 canal configuration was most prevalent (77-95%). The Types 2, 3, 4, and 5 canal configurations were observed within a range of 0.2-2.7%, 0.2-1.6%, 0.9-5.9%, and 1.8-14.4%, respectively. The prevalence of two canals was higher in males than in females both in the maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Type 1 was the most prevalent canal configuration of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth in the Turkish population. Type 5 was the most frequently observed canal configuration of the two canalled teeth. The incidence of root canal numbers and configurations differed with sex.