Internal root morphology of the maxillary first premolars in Kenyans of African descent

Abstract

Objective: To determine the internal root morphology of the maxillary first premolar in Kenyans of African descent. Design: In vitro descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: School of Dental Sciences, University of Nairobi. Subjects: One hundred and fifty five extracted maxillary first premolars obtained from patients aged between 13-30 years attending dental clinics within Nairobi. Results: There were 77 premolars from males and 78 from females. Majority (87.1%) of the teeth had two canals. Males presented with three canals more commonly than females. This difference was statistically significant. According to Vertucci's classification, male specimens demonstrated five of the canals types while female specimens demonstrated all the eight canal types. These differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Kenyan maxillary first premolar was mostly found to have two canals. There were eight canal types, with type IV being the commonest.