Root canal morphology assessment of the maxillary first premolar using cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT) imaging in a selected Iranian population

Considering the effect of ethnicity and race on the root canal morphology of different teeth, this study was conducted to determine the root canal anatomy of permanent maxillary first premolars using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in an Iranian population.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 150 CBCT radiographs of an Iranian population, referred to a Radiology Clinic in Rafsanjan, Iran. The CBCT images were evaluated in terms of the number of roots and canals of maxillary first premolar and also canal types in axial and sagittal images. The Vertucci classification was used for assessing the root morphology. Data were collected using a checklist. The independent t-test and Chi-square test were used and analyzed at a significance level of 0.05.

A study of 150 radiographs showed that 81 and 69 ones had one root and two roots, respectively. In terms of canal type in the single-root teeth, 13 radiographs (16%) were type I, 36 (44.4%) were type II, 6 (7.4%) were type III, 17 (21%) were type IV, two (2.5%) were type V, four (4.9%) were type VI, and three (16%) were type VII. It should be noted that none of the radiographs had a type-VIII canal.

This study has indicated that the Iranian population has a complex maxillary first premolars root canal morphology, and according to Vertucci classification, types II and IV are more common; hence, the Clinician must be very careful before treating the root canal of the first maxillary premolars.