Correlazione tra immagini radiografiche e anatomia dei canali radicolari dei primi molari inferiori

Introduction- Nowadays, the anatomy of endodontic system, particularly of the apical third, has reached a primary interest in planning the cleaning, shaping and filling of root canals. Aim of the study- The present study aimed to correlate the actual anatomy with the radiologic anatomy of the canals of the first human mandibular molars. Method- Six mandibular first molars were extracted in periodontal patients and embedded in acrilic resin. Canal diameters were measured by means of intraoral radiographies and photographic images of serial sections. Data were compared with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA, p<0.05). Results- Statistically significant differences between radiographic and photographic measures were found in all root canals (ANOVA, p<0.05). A continuous funnel taper was not evident in mesio-vestibular and mesio-lingual canals in none of the four analyzed radiographic projections. In contrast, distal canal revealed a cilindric shape in 90° radiographic projection and a continuous funnel taper in 0° projection. Conclusions- The differences between the observed data of the canal diameters in the first mandibular molars showed a lower appraisal (about 25-30%) of the actual canal anatomy in radiographic images.