Morphologic variations and gender dimorphism in mandibular first premolar root canal pattern: A CBCT study in south Indian population

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the variations in the RCM of mandibular first premolars (MFP) in south Indians and also evaluated the gender dimorphism and contralateral symmetry of the pattern. Methods: 200 Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images of MFP of patients above 18 years were analyzed for the root canal morphology after excluding the distorted images, endodontically treated tooth or fractured root. The teeth were carefully evaluated in cross-sectional, axial and coronal sections and the information regarding the number of roots and the type of root canal as per Vertucci’s classification. Interobserver and intraobserver reliability were also checked. Results: Single rooted teeth with Type I (73.01%) variation was the most prevalent pattern observed in the study population, which was followed by Type III (14.11%) and Type V (5.52%), respectively. Type IV and Type VIII variations were not found in our study. Conclusions: In both males and females, type I configuration was the most common pattern with symmetry in contralateral mandibular single-rooted first premolars.