2020 Volume 11 Issue 2 Pages 104-107
Aims: The mandibular canines often survive until a late stage, even in elderly people who have lost many teeth, and they play an important role in occlusion. Canines have long tooth roots and low susceptibility to caries or periodontal disease, giving them a high survival rate. The ability to carry out a detailed evaluation of root morphology of canines in situ in the oral cavity would be extremely useful clinically. The aim of this study was to use cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to clarify the rate of occurrence of accessory canals in the mandibular canines of Japanese people. Material and Methods: The subjects were 108 patients (46 men, 62 women, age 14–77 years, mean age 52.8 years) who underwent CBCT between January and April 2020. A total of 108 vital mandibular canines that were completely scanned with CBCT were consecutively selected, and the rate of occurrence of accessory canals in the mandibular canines was evaluated. Results: Accessory canals were present in the mandibular canines of 41 subjects and absent in 67 subjects, a rate of occurrence of 38.0%. Comparing the presence and absence of accessory canals, a significant difference was found; the absence of accessory canals in the mandibular canines was significantly more common (p<0.05). No significant differences in the presence of accessory canals were found by either age or sex. Conclusions: The results of this study show that the rate of occurrence of accessory canals in the mandibular canines of Japanese people is 38.0%. Accessory canals in the mandibular canine were shown to be significantly more likely to be absent than present.
