An in vitro study of root canal system of human primary molars by using multidetector computed tomography

The primary tooth has numerous functions and is important in a child's development. Pediatric endodontic treatment has a very important role in maintaining oral health of the child. However, the morphology of root canals in deciduous teeth usually leads to complications in root canal therapy. To improve the success in endodontic, a thorough knowledge of the root canal morphology is essential.

The aim of this study is to determine the thorough in vitro, morphological evaluation of root canal system of human primary molars using multidetector computed tomography.

A total of 64 human primary maxillary and mandibular molars without any macroscopic root resorption were selected and divided into four groups. The samples were arranged in wax block, and the scanning was done on the computed tomography scanne (GE light speed 16 slice CT).

The images were grabbed by the computer as a raw image and reformatted in a GE Advantage workstation version 4.2 (GE healthcare) with the help of Denta Scan (GE healthcare) software and volume rendering was done.

Descriptive statistical analysis (Student's t-test) was performed to calculate the means with corresponding standard deviations. A value of P ≤ 0.05 was taken to be statistically significant.

It enlightens the clinicians view to access the morphological variations of the root canals for the effective pediatric endodontic treatment.

The images showed the complexity of the root canals of the primary mandibular molars and also the several capabilities of the CT scan in advance endodontic research in primary teeth were observed.