Objectives: To study the prevalence of middle mesial and middle distal canals in permanent mandibular molars in Egyptian subpopulation using micro-computed tomography.
Materials and methods: Two hundred and forty extracted mandibular permanent molars of Egyptian patients were scanned using micro-computed tomography, then the images were reconstructed to allow for the detection of the middle mesial (MM) and middle distal (MD) canals of the molars examined. The path of each extra canal was studied to determine the configuration of each canal. Data were analyzed statistically using the Chi-square test with a level of significance set at P< 0.05.
Results: The evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) images of this study showed that no significant difference was found between the percentage of MM (27.5%) and MD canals (22.5%) (P = 0.2064); however, there was a significant difference between the percentage of teeth having both extra canals (10%) and teeth having only one of these canals (P < 0.05). The confluent configuration (71%) was significantly higher than the other configurations (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: A higher percentage of MM canal was detected followed by the MD canal. The least significant was both canals occurring within the same molar. The percentage of the confluent configuration was the highest. The apt knowledge of the variations of the root canal system anatomy and the respect of the discrepancies associated with diverse demographic areas will ensure the proper management of each tooth with endodontic involvement and its long-term success.
Keywords: Canal configuration; micro-computed tomography; middle distal canal; middle mesial canal.