Morphology of apical foramen in permanent molars and premolars in a Turkish population.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the number, shape and diameter of minor apical foramina, the distance between apical foramina and anatomical apex and the frequency of accessory foramina in a Turkish population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eight hundred permanent maxillary and mandibular teeth were collected. The roots were stained with methylene blue and the apices were examined with a stereomicroscope (×40) and transferred to a computer to perform the measurements using Adobe Photoshop software.

RESULTS

The incidence of one apical foramen was highest in distobuccal roots of the maxillary first molars and was lowest in the maxillary first premolars with single roots. The distance of deviation in all the teeth was between 0.271-0.519 mm. The frequency of accessory foramina was between 30-70% for the various tooth types.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this in vitro study indicate that the morphology of apical foramina in this Turkish population may present highly complex anatomical variations.