A comparative study on mandibular premolar root canal morphology employing cone-beam computed tomography and microcomputed tomography imaging

AIM: The present study was to investigate the root canal morphology of mandibular premolars in Malaysian population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) scanned images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty selected mandibular premolars were evaluated in vitro and the root canal morphologies of the samples were categorized based on Vertucci's classification. The position of apical foramen, presence, and location of lateral canal, as well as prevalence of apical delta, were also determined. RESULTS: Invariably, Type I variety (Vertucci's classification) was the most frequent root canal morphology followed by Type V and Type III after micro-CT imaging. CBCT investigation also revealed Type I as the most numerous; however, the second most common configuration was Type III followed closely by others. There was a moderate agreement in Vertucci's classification of root canal configuration and also prevalence of apical delta (kappa: 0.516 and 0.550, respectively). However, only a fair agreement (kappa: 0.289) was observed between CBCT and micro-CT on the prevalence of lateral canal. CONCLUSION: CBCT should be cautiously used in determining root canal configuration as deficiencies were evident and revealed during micro-CT imaging.