Anatomical morphology of maxillary first premolars in a Chinese population assessed using Cone-beam Computed Tomography

Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the anatomical shape of the maxillary first premolars in Chinese people using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The anatomical morphology of root canals and crowns of 637 first premolars from China was observed by CBCT. In this study, 73.3% of the 637 maxillary first premolars were single roots, 26.7% were double roots, and 41.8%(n = 266) of the 637 maxillary first premolars were type IV in the light of Vertucci. The most frequent distance between two root canal orifices was 2-3mm (n = 257, 47.6%). There was a range in distance from the top of the medullary chamber to the central fossa (from 4.25mm to 4.45mm), with a mean distance of 4.35 ± 0.62mm. The incidence of mesial depression was 65.6%, and the mean angle of the mesial depression was 151.8 ± 10.5 degrees. In conclusion, the root canal system and anatomical morphology of the maxillary first premolar in the Chinese population exhibit a wide range of morphologies based on CBCT.