Furcation groove of buccal root of maxillary first premolars--a morphometric study

Furcation grooves on the palatal aspect of the buccal roots of 35 maxillary first premolars, randomly selected, were assessed and found to exist in 97% of the sample. The buccal roots were sectioned into slices, 1 mm thick, and morphometric horizontal and vertical measurements were taken by a Toolmaker Microscope. The slice with the deepest invaginations served as the reference plane. The deepest invaginations were found to be at a mean distance of 1.18 mm from the bifurcation, with a mean depth of 0.4 mm. The canal had a kidney-shaped appearance in cross-section, and the mean distance from the invagination to the canal wall was 0.81 mm. It is thus hazardous to use rotary instruments for flaring these roots and any circular-shaped post space preparation at this level is contraindicated. The outcome of such procedures might be root thinning, perforation, or vertical root fracture, thus causing a poor prognosis.