Anatomical analysis of permanent mandibular incisors in a Saudi Arabian population: An in Vivo cone-beam computed tomography study.

AIMS: To investigate the root canal's anatomy, gender differences, and bilateral symmetry of permanent mandibular incisors using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 208 patients with 822 well-developed mandibular incisors were evaluated. CBCT images were retrieved from the database of patients who received treatment in the College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. The following parameters were evaluated using CBCT: (1) the number of roots; (2) the number of canals; (3) canal configuration according to Vertucci's classification; (4) differences between genders; and (5) bilateral symmetry.
RESULTS: Two canals appeared in 26.3% of mandibular central incisors, 30.8% of lateral incisors, and 28.6% of all the 822 mandibular incisors. In the teeth with two canals, Type III configuration was dominant. There were no statistically significant differences found between the central and lateral incisors (P = 0.449). There were gender differences in central incisors, while lateral incisors showed none. Slight bilateral asymmetries appeared in central and lateral incisors in relation to some canals and canals configurations.
CONCLUSION: CBCT can be of great use in locating the second canal and determining canal configuration in mandibular incisors. Knowledge of bilateral asymmetry can be of clinical significance when the clinician is treating contralateral teeth in the same patient.