Evaluation of mandibular premolars root canal morphology by cone beam computed tomography

Introduction: To achieve a successful endodontic treatment, the clinician has to identify the different canal configurations.mandibular premolars have the wide variety of root canal morphology and they are known as the most difficult teeth to treat in endodontics.CBCT  provides a non-invasive 3D confirmatory diagnosis as a complement to conventional radiography.The aim of this study was to evaluate the root canal morphology inmandibular premolars using CBCT technology. Materials & Methods: A total of 114 cone-beam computed tomographic images including 228 mandibular first premolars and 228 mandibular second premolars with fully developed roots, were investigated.The CBCT images were collected from private oral and maxillofacial radiology centers in Isfahan, were examined in axial section and the information of each tooth was recorded by three examiners. Then, the data were analyzed by computer analysis such as; t-test, McNamara, chi-square test. Results: Of the first premolars 89.56% had a single canal and 10.09% had two canals and 0.44% was C shaped. Of the second premolars 97.37% had one canal and 2.19% had two canals. None of mandibular premolars had three canals and just one C-shaped canal was observed (0.44 %). There was no significant correlation between the prevalence of the diversity of canals and gender. Conclusion: In this study, most of the mandibular premolars had single canal and first mandibular premolars were five times more likely to have two canals than second premolars.