A cone-beam computed tomography study of root canal morphology of maxillary and mandibular premolars in a Turkish population.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the root canal number and configuration of maxillary and mandibular premolar teeth by gender, intervals for decades, tooth position and unilateral or bilateral occurrence in a Turkish population using Cone Beam Computed Tomography(CBCT) scanning.

Methodology: CBCT images of 5496 maxillary and mandibular premolars from 849 patients were evaluated. The following was evaluated in all the images: numbers of roots and root canals, the morphology of the root canal configuration according to the Vertucci classification, male-female differences in the tooth position and male-female differences in unilateral or bilateral occurrence. The reliability data were analyzed with a chi-square test.

Results: The most prevalent root canal frequency was the two canals (86.2%) and type IV (76.9%) configuration for maxillary first premolar, one canal (59.7%) and type I (54.5%) canal configuration for second premolar. The incidence of one canal was higher in females and the occurrence of two or three canals was more common in males. The incidence of one canal was higher on the left side of maxillary premolars and the incidence of two canals was higher on the right side. Most mandibular first (93.5%) and second (98.5%) premolars had one canal. In general, females had one root canal of the mandibular premolar, whereas males had two or three canals. The type I configuration was most common and the incidence was higher on the right side. There were some differences found in the frequency distribution of the number of root canals and configuration of maxillary and mandibular premolar teeth according to intervals for decades.

Conclusion: CBCT scanning provides comprehensive information about the root canal morphology of maxillary and mandibular premolar teeth. These data may help clinicians in root canal treatment of premolar teeth.