Morphology of the apical root canal system in Korean mandibular first molar

Hyeon Jeong; Sang-jin Park; Sang-Hyuk Park; Gi-Woon Choi

doi:10.5395/JKACD.2009.34.2.137

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Jeong, Park, Park, and Choi: Morphology of the apical root canal system in Korean mandibular first molar

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry

Journal of Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry 2009; 34(2): 137-144.

Published online: 31 March 2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5395/JKACD.2009.34.2.137

Morphology of the apical root canal system in Korean mandibular first molar

Hyeon Jeong, Sang-jin Park, Sang-Hyuk Park, Gi-Woon Choi

Department of Conservative Dentistry, Division of Dentistry, Graduate of Kyung Hee University, Korea.

Corresponding Author: Gi-Woon Choi. Professor of Division of Dentistry, Graduate school of KyungHee University, 1, Hoegi Dong, Dongdaemun Gu, Seoul, Korea, 130-702. Tel: 82-2-958-9336, gwchoi@khu.ac.kr

Received 26 November 2008 Revised 26 December 2008 Accepted 7 March 2009

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the shapes and diameters of the physiological foramen and anatomy of the root canal at 3mm from apex in mandibular first molars.

Sixty mandibular first molars were randomly selected. The apical anatomy of 60 mandibular first molars was investigated by means of a stereomicroscope (60x magnification).

The results were as follows;

1. There was a high percentage of two physiological foramina in mesial (61.67%) and one foramen in distal(71.66%) roots of mandibular first molars.

2.There was a high frequency of accessory foramina in mesial roots with one foramen (26.07%).

3. The diameters of physiological foramen was as follows:

0.329mm in single mesial foramen
0.266mm in mesiobuccal foramen and 0.246mm in mesiolingual foramen
0.375mm in single distal foramen
0.291mm in distobuccal foramen and 0.237mm in distolingual foramen

4. The most common physiological foramen shape was oval (69.93%).

5. The incidence of isthmus in mesial root at 3mm from apex was 55%. The 3mm-sections contained a complete isthmus 31.66% and a partial isthmus 23.34%.

6. 3mm from the apex, the most common canal shape was oval (50.64%).

Knowledge of the apical anatomy of mandibular first molar would be necessary for success of surgical and nonsurgical endodontic treatment.

Keywords: Mandibular first molar, Apical foramen, Physiological foramen shape

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Photograph of the physiologic foramen of distal root (×60)

Figure 2

Photograph of the physiologic foramen of mesial root (×60)

Figure 3

Photograph of section in distal root at 3mm from root apex (×60)

Figure 4

Photograph of section with no isthmus (×40)

Figure 5

Photograph of section with a partial isthmus (×40)

Figure 6

Photograph of section with a complete isthmus (×40)

Table 1

Number of physiological foramen and accessory foramen frequency in mesial and distal roots of mandibular first molars (%, n)

M : single mesial, MB : mesiobuccal, ML : mesiolingual

D : single distal, DB : distobuccal, DL : distolingual

Table 2

Frequency of accessory foramen (<0.10mm) in mandibular first molars (%, n)

M : single mesial, MB : mesiobuccal, ML : mesiolingua

D : single distal, DB : distobuccal, DL : distolingual

Table 3

Narrow and wide diameters of the mesial physiological foramina of mandibular first molars (mm)

M : single mesial, MB : mesiobuccal, ML : mesiolingual

N : narrow diameter, W : wide diameter

Table 4

Narrow and wide diameters of the distal physiological foramina of mandibular first molars (mm)

D : single distal, DB : distobuccal, DL : distolingual

N : narrow diameter, W : wide diameter

Table 5

Shape of the mesial and distal physiological foramina of mandibular first molar (%, n)

M : single mesial, MB : mesiobuccal, ML : mesiolingual

D : single distal, DB : distobuccal, DL : distolingual

Table 6

Incidence of isthmus in the mesial roots of mandibular first molars(%, n)

Table 7

Shape of the distal canals at 3mm level (%, n)

D : single distal, DB : distobuccal,

DL : distolingual

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