Detection of a second mesiobuccal canal in the mesiobuccal roots of maxillary first molar teeth

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the MB2 canal in the mesiobuccal root (MBR) of maxillary first molars could be identified through a clinical access cavity preparation, with and without magnification. Study design: One hundred extracted maxillary first molar teeth were collected. After a clinical access cavity preparation with careful use of bur to locate any additional canal (dentine troughing), the MB2 canals were located in 2 stages. Stage I was located with unaided vision and stage II was located under moderate magnification with ×3.5 magnifying dental loupes. All specimens were stained, rendered transparent, and then classified. The number of canals detected by stage was analyzed statistically by a chi-square test. Statistical significance was considered to be P ≤ .05. Results: Under magnification, the number of detected MB2 canals was increased from 55 (56.7%) to 61 (62.9%) teeth. Cleared teeth showed 77.32% of MB2 canals. The effectiveness of MB2 location was 73.3% and 82.7% in stage I and stage II, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 methods of detecting the MB2 canal (P = .3). Conclusions: The use of magnification enhanced the ability to detect the MB2 canals, although the difference was not statistically significant. The MB2 canals could not be detected in 16.5% of the teeth, mainly because of pulpal calcification. © 2007 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.