Characterisation of Root Canal Configurations and Accessory Canals in Mandibular Incisors: A Micro-Computed Tomography Study on a Malaysian Subpopulation.

Abstract

This micro-CT study evaluated the root canals of 135 mandibular incisors in a Malaysian subpopulation using Vertucci (1984) and Ahmed et al. (2017), whilst the accessory canals were classified using the Ahmed et al. (2018) system. The Fisher Exact test was used for analysis (p = 0.05). Results showed that 53% of the teeth had Type I/¹MI¹ canals, whilst Type III/¹MI^1-2-1 canals occurred significantly less often in 15% of teeth (p < 0.001). Non-classifiable Vertucci canals occurred in 21% of teeth, all of which were classified using the Ahmed et al. system. Accessory canals were identified in 24% of the samples, with a single patent accessory canal being the most common compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Accessory canals were significantly more common in code ¹ManI^1-2 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the use of complementary codes to categorise accessory canals supplemented the characterisation of the main canals and provided more comprehensive and complete information on their internal anatomy.