Mandibular Canine

Sturdy and  considerably wider mesial-distally than the incisors, the  mandibular canines  seldom present  endodontic problems. The  unusual occurrence of  two roots can  create  difficulty, but this is  rare. The access  cavity is ovoid and  may be  extended  incisally for labial-lingual  accessibility. The canal is  somewhat  ovoid at the  cervical,  becoming  round at midroot.  Directional  instrumentation is necessary  to debride the  canal walls  completely. If there are two  roots, one is  always easier to  instrument. The other must be opened and  funneled in concert with the first to prevent packing of dentin debris and loss of access. Precurving of instruments at  initial  access  will  enable the clinician to trace down the buccal or  lingual root  wall until the tip engages the  orifice. When the  difficult canal is located, every  effort  should be made to shape and  funnel the opening to  maintain  continued  access (Burns RC, Buchanan LS. Tooth Morphology and Access Openings. Part One: The Art of Endodontics in Pathway of Pulp, 6th Ed. p. 154).

 

Keywords: micro-computed tomography, micro-ct, marco versiani, micro-computer tomography, high resolution x-ray tomography, dental anatomy, root canal anatomy