Clinical and Radiographic Methods to Find the Second Mesiobuccal Canal in Maxillary Molars

A retrospective clinical study was carried out to determine if cone beam volumetric tomography (CBVT) would aid the practitioner in locating the second mesiobuccal canal (MB2) in maxillary molars during endodontic treatment. CBVT scans of fifty patients who received root canal treatment at a private dental practice limited to endodontics were reviewed for the presence or absence of MB2. The clinical notes and post-operative radiographs were then reviewed to determine whether an MB2 was located and treated by the practitioner. The prevalence of MB2 in the CBVT images in this study was 92%. This was on the higher end but still consistent with previous in vitro studies suggesting CBVT accurately protrays actual anatomy. The prevalence of MB2 that was clinically identified was 89.1%. This finding was higher than previous in vivo studies using conventional two-dimensional radiography, suggesting that the use of CBVT can increase the clinical identification and treatment of MB2.