Anatomical Relationship between the Interorificial Distance and Root Canal Configuration

Methods: The freshly extracted teeth investigated were 100 first molars (50 men, 50 women; age range, 16-77 years), and 100 second molars (50 men, 50 women; age range, 19-79 years) were obtained over a 1-yr period of time by 1 endodontist from the Public Dental Services located in Ankara, Turkey. The crown of each tooth was sectioned 1mm to the cemento-enamel junction coronally using a diamond disc. To measure the interorificial distance, each section was digitally imaged using a stereomicroscope (Leica Microsystems, Heidelberg GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) at a magnification of ×10 with a CCD camera. Each image was then transferred to a personal computer and analyzed by using a CoralDRAW 11 (Corel Corp. 2002, USA) image processing software. Size 08 K-files (MANI Inc., Tochigi, Japan) are placed into the canals until they were clearly visible as they penetrated the apex. The teeth were radiographed in both the buccolingual and mesiodistal directions and the canal configuration of the MB root was classified according to the Weine classification. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. All levels of significance were set at p<0.05.

Results: The mean interorificial distance in both maxillary first and second molars was significantly shorter in type II (3.16±0.32mm; 3.09±0.22mm, respectively), compared to type III (3.8±0.26mm; 3.89±0.23mm, respectively) (p<0.05).

Conclusion: A longer interorificial distance may be an important clinical finding in predicting the occurrence of Weine type III canals in the MB root of maxillary first and second molars