A micro-CT analysis of radicular dentine thickness in mandibular first premolars presenting C-shaped root canals: Identification of potential danger zones

Alfredo Sierra-Cristancho, Luis González-Osuna, Julián Balanta-Melo, Emilio A. Cafferata, Carolina Rojas, Samanta Melgar-Rodríguez, Paola Carvajal*, Rolando Vernal*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Aim: To describe the radicular dentine thickness in mandibular first premolars presenting C-shaped root canals, to identify the canal walls with less thickness as potential danger zones. In addition, to describe the internal and external anatomical characteristics of these teeth and associate them with the dentine thickness. Methodology: A total of 70 mandibular first premolars presenting C-shaped root canals were examined. Their internal morphology was analysed using Vertucci’s and Fan’s criteria, and their external morphology was analysed using the ASUDAS score. Besides, the dentine thickness around the root canals was two/three-dimensionally determined at five root planes and quantified in the distal and the mesial aspects. Results: According to Fan’s, ASUDAS, and Vertucci’s classifications, the most common canal configurations were category C3, grade 3, and type V, respectively. In Vertucci's type III anatomy, the mesial root wall of the lingual canal showed significantly less dentine thickness than the distal wall in the middle plane (p =.031). Similarly, in Vertucci's type V anatomy, significantly less dentine thickness was observed in the mesial root wall of the buccal and lingual canals in the middle plane (p <.001) and the buccal canal in the middle-apical plane (p =.014) than the distal root wall of these canals. In teeth with ASUDAS grade 3 and 4 scores, significantly less dentine thickness was observed in the mesial in comparison with the distal root wall of these canals. These differences were demonstrated in the middle and middle-apical planes (p <.001) of grade 3 teeth and the middle-apical plane (p <.001) of grade 4 teeth. In these root planes, the Ver1-AS3 and VerV-AS3 combinations presented a 4-times greater risk of presenting walls with a critical dentine thickness of 0.6 mm (odds ratio [OR] = 4, p =.025) than the combinations Ver1-AS2, VerV-AS2, VerV-AS4, and VerIII-AS3. Conclusions: The root canal system configuration of mandibular first premolars with C-shaped canals showed a wide range of anatomical variations. The lowest dentine thickness was located in the mesial wall of the canals in the middle and apical root thirds of Vertucci’s type III and V anatomies and in teeth with deep radicular grooves scored as ASUDAS grades 3 and 4. In the middle and middle-apical planes, the presence of the combinations Ver1-AS3 and VerV-AS3 showed a high risk of presenting a critical dentine thickness of 0.6 mm. Therefore, these root canal walls with less dentine thickness represent potential instrumentation danger zones in mandibular first premolars with C-shaped canals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)672-684
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Endodontic Journal
Volume55
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 British Endodontic Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

  • C-shaped canal
  • canal system morphology
  • danger zones
  • dentine thickness
  • mandibular first premolar
  • micro-computed tomography

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