Prevalence of Second Mesiobuccal Canal in the Mesiobuccal Root of Maxillary Second Molars in a Libyan Subpopulation Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Introduction: The permanent maxillary molars have greatest complexity, variation in the root canal system and a high percentage of treatment failure due to the impossibility of locating, instrumenting, and obturating the second mesiobuccal canal (MB2). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MB2 canals in permanent maxillary second molar teeth using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and compare them by different age groups, gender, and side. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, The CBCT images of 184 patients (120 females and 64 males) between 13 and greater than 40 years old were including in this study. A total of 334 permanent maxillary second molars were analysed. Teeth with additional canals in their mesiobuccal roots (MB2) were identified. The Chi-squared test was used to compare the frequency of MB2 between genders, ages, sides. Results: MB2 canals in the mesiobuccal roots of maxillary second molars were detected in 302 of the 334 teeth, to give a tooth prevalence of 90.4%. The prevalence of MB2 canal was higher in males 95.7% than in females 87.7%with significant difference between the genders. No significant difference was found between sides and among the age groups. Prevalence of MB2 canals were more frequent as the bilateral (93.4%) than unilateral (6.6%). Conclusions: The percentage of MB2 was high. These results indicate that CBCT is an effective, high precision diagnostic tool for detecting (MB2) canal. To improve the prognosis of endodontic treatment, the clinician must pay more attention to the localization and treatment of this canal.