Number of root canals of the maxillary second premolar in nigerians

NUMBER OF ROOT CANALS OF
THE MAXILLARY SECOND PREMOLAR IN NIGERIANS
O. CHIMA*
INTRODUCTION
RESULTS
Root canal therapy is a procedure employed to remove
the inflamed or dead pulp and replace it with a root
filling. It is a part of the speciality called endodontics.
Endodontics is the term used for all forms of root canal
therapy. It includes root filling, pulpotomy, pulp capping
and apicetomy. Car i e s, accidental exposure dur i n g
cavity preparation, fracture of the crown, irritation from
unlined fillings, excessive heat during preparation and
pulpitis lead to pulp death. This in turn eventually leads
to an acute alveolar abscess which is a very painful
condition. To prevent this chain of events, endodontic
treatment or extraction is required whenever the pulp is
inflamed or dead or when an alveolar abscess is
already present. Root canal treatment removes the
source of irritation which causes alveolar abscess. The
root filled tooth will then function just as well as one
with a normal pulp.
Out of the 46 patients treated, 26 (56.5%) were females
and 20 (43.5%) were males. In the female patients, 19
(73%) had two root canals, while 6 (30%) had one root
canal.
In the male patients, 14 (70%) had two canals, while
6 (30%) had one root canal.
In both sex e s, cases of 3 root canals were not
encountered. The average for both sexes were 71.5%
with two root canals and 28.5% with one root canal.
The success of a root canal treatment depends among
other factors on the knowledge of the number of root
canals of the tooth involved. According to international
literature, (1-7) the maxillary second premolar has one
root canal in 75% cases, two in 24% cases and three in
1%. The purpose of this paper is to describe a survey
ot the root canals in 46 maxillary second premolar teeth
of Nigerians that had root canal treatment with
emphasis on the number of root canals per tooth and
the incidence according to sex.
PATIENTS AND METHODS
All records of patients who had reported to the dental
clinic of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital,
Enugu for root canal therapy of the maxillary second
premolar were studied. The period of study w a s
January 1991 - December 1994. Diagnosis was made
on the basis of clinical and radiographic examinations.
All the patients were adult Nigerians mostly from the
7 eastern states of the Federal Republic.
* From the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of
Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu.
Reprint requests : Chima Oji, P.O. Box 3265 - Enugu - Nigeria Telefax : 042 - 256298.
DISCUSSION
The results have been derived from a small population
and therefore some caution must be exercised in its
interpretation. However, it is noteworthy that 73% of the
26 female patients and 70% of the 20 male patients
had two root canals and that no patient had three root
canals. There was no sex difference in the incidence. It
would appear therefore that two root canals would be
present in the maxillary second premolar in about
71.5% of Nigerians instead of in about 24% as would
be concluded from the literature. (Fig. 1).
Figure 1 : Maxillary 2nd Premolar of
a Nigerian with 2 root canals
Odonto-Stomatologie Tropicale
Number of roots…
It is essential to find all the root canals in an endodontic
case in order to ensure long-term treatment success. 8
The clinician should have a basic knowledge of root
canal morphology and also be aware of the variations
that may occur. Many clinicians who utilise information
from the results of studies in Caucasians believe that
the maxillary second premolar has predominantly one
root canal and go on to treat the tooth as such. It is
therefore recommended that Nigerian dental surgeons
as a consequence of this report, should always look for
the second root canal when performing a root canal
treatment of the maxillary second premolar especially
on Nigerians.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to Professor G.O. Onuaguluchi of the
Department of Pharmacology, U.N.T.H. Enugu, for his
useful criticism of the manuscript.
SUMMARY
Numerous studies (1-7) have investigated the incidence of root canals in the permanent teeth of humans
(mostly Caucasians) but have not carried out the same investigations in Africans, especially in Nigerians, as is
the case in this report. Nevertheless, a survey of 46 Nigerian patients who had root canal treatments of the
maxillary second premolar at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, from January 1990 to
December 1994 is presented. Our observations among the patients, as far as the number of root canals per
tooth is concerned, do not agree with international literature which states that the maxillary second premolar
has one root canal in 75% cases, two in 24% and three in 1%. (1-7). On the contrary, we found out that the
average of the maxillary second premolars of Nigerians with two root canals was 71.5%, 28.5% had one root
canal and three canals were not encountered. As a consequence of this report, Nigerian dental surg eons
should not really solely on statistics carried out mainly among Caucasians, but should carry out home-based
studies. They should always search for a second canal especially when treating the root canals of the
maxillary second premolars of Nigerians.
Key Words : Maxillary second premolar - Number of root canals - Nigerians - U.N.T.H., Enugu.
RÉSUMÉ
De nombreuses études ont recherché l’incidence des canaux de racine des dents permanentes humaines
(principalement des Caucasiens) mais n’ont pas effectué les mêmes investigations chez les africains,
spécialement les Nigérians, comme le montre ce rapport. Néanmoins une étude de 46 patients nigérians qui
ont subi un traitement canalaire de la racine de la seconde prémolaire maxillaire à l’Université du Nigeria,
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d’Enugu de Janvier 1970 à décembre 1994 est présentés. Nos observations
parmi ces patients, en ce qui concerne le nombre de canaux de racine par dent ne corres-pondent pas avec la
littérature internationale qui établit qui la seconde pré-molaire maxillaire a un canal de racine dans 75% des
cas, deux canaux dans 24% et trois canaux dans 1%.
Contrairement, nous avons trouvé que 71,5% des Nigerians avaient deux canaux de racine des secondes prémolaires, 28,5% avaient un canal de racine et aucun cas de trois canaux.
En conséquence les chirurgiens dentistes Nigérians ne doivent pas se fier uniquement aux statistiques
établies principalement chez les Caucasiens, mais devraient établir des études locales. Ils devraient toujours
rechercher un second canal spécialement quand ils traitent les canaux de racine des secon es prémolaires
maxillaires chez les Nigérians.
Mots clés : Seconde pré-molaire maxillaire - Nombre de canaux de racine - Nigerians - C.H.U. Enugu.
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