title: Furcation groove of buccal root of maxillary first premolars--a morphometric study.
abstract: Furcation grooves on the palatal aspect of the buccal roots of 35 maxillary first premolars, randomly selected, were assessed and found to exist in 97% of the sample. The buccal roots were sectioned into slices, 1 mm thick, and morphometric horizontal and vertical measurements were taken by a Toolmaker Microscope. The slice with the deepest invaginations served as the reference plane. The deepest invaginations were found to be at a mean distance of 1.18 mm from the bifurcation, with a mean depth of 0.4 mm. The canal had a kidney-shaped appearance in cross-section, and the mean distance from the invagination to the canal wall was 0.81 mm. It is thus hazardous to use rotary instruments for flaring these roots and any circular-shaped post space preparation at this level is contraindicated. The outcome of such procedures might be root thinning, perforation, or vertical root fracture, thus causing a poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontology, Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tamse
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pilo
mesh_terms: D001641:Bicuspid / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D000075202:Contraindications; D003786:Dental Pulp Cavity / Q000002:abnormalities; D006801:Humans; D008437:Maxilla; D009811:Odontometry; D011176:Post and Core Technique / Q000009:adverse effects; D011379:Prognosis; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D014082:Tooth Fractures / Q000209:etiology; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology