Prevalence of Three Rooted Permanent Mandibular First Molars in Haryana (North Indian) Population

BACKGROUND: Mandibular first molars typically have two roots but sometimes a supernumerary root presents distolingually called as radix entomolaris (RE). AIM: The present study evaluated the prevalence of permanent mandibular first molars featuring a distolingual root in Haryana (North India). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred patients possessing bilateral mandibular first molars were selected for this study. The intraoral periapical radiographs were taken. The radiographs of these patients were evaluated under optimal conditions. A total of 1000 mandibular first molars were screened, and the incidence of three-rooted mandibular first molars, RE and the correlation between left and right side occurrence and between either gender were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The binary logistic regression test and Pearson's Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of three-rooted permanent mandibular first molars was 13% of the patients examined and 8.3% of the teeth examined. There was no statistically significant difference between gender and side of occurrence (P ≥ 0.05). The bilateral incidence of a symmetric distribution was 27.6 (18/65) among the RE teeth examined. CONCLUSION: RE is considered as an Asiatic trait. The occurrence of this macrostructure in the Haryana (North India) population was found to be 13%. The clinician must thoroughly examine the radiographs before the initiation of endodontic therapy.