Radix entomolaris: identification and morphology

The Royal Dental College, Copenhagen, houses an extensive collection of human teeth, extracted in Denmark. At present, the collection includes 398 permanent mandibular molars with a root complex containing a lingually-located supernumerary root. This macrostructure is called radix entomolaris (RE). By analyzing the large number of available specimens it was possible to establish uniform and precise criteria for the identification of RE on M1 inf, M2 inf, and M3 inf. The analyses included separate as well as non-separate RE. The representation of the RE variants according to tooth types was mapped. Furthermore, the following relevant clinical variables with respect to RE were registered: degree of separation, divergence, apical bend, apical gracility, and fusion. Because of the nature of the material, the investigation was mostly qualitative and non-metric. The results should be of interest to clinical dentists, dental morphologists, and dental anthropologists.