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Updated: Aug 16, 2025
A Finite Element Approach for Locating the Center of Resistance of Maxillary Teeth
Published on: April 8, 2020
Can the detection of second mesiobuccal canals be enhanced based on the volume of adjacent canals?
Lucas P Lopes Rosado1, Deborah Q Freitas2, Karla Rovaris3
1Department of Oral Diagnosis, Division of Oral Radiology, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Dentistry, University Center of Espírito Santo (UNESC), Colatina, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of the second mesiobuccal (MB2) canal is related to volumetric differences on the adjacent canals of maxillary molars.
Design:
Forty-seven maxillary first and second molars with and without the MB2 canal were individually scanned using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). The volume of each canal was measured by an evaluator with experience in micro-CT analysis. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was obtained. Multiple logistic regression and odds ratio was calculated. To compare the volume of canals in molars with and without MB2, the Mann-Whitney test was applied (α = 0.05).
Results:
The intra-examiner reproducibility was almost perfect (ICC=0.97). Multiple logistic regression demonstrated that the volume of the mesiobuccal (MB1) canal can possibly act as a predictor of the presence of the MB2 canal. It was also found that the MB1 canal volume is larger in molars without the MB2 canal (p = 0.01). No statistically significant difference was observed in the adjacent canals (p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Despite the challenging detection of the presence of MB2 canals, clinicians should be aware that MB1 canals of reduced volume are highly suggestive of their presence.
