JOVD 2004: Furcation canals of the maxillary fourth premolar and the mandibular first molar teeth in cats.

Question 1

Authors?

Answer 1

V. Negro

S. Hernandez

Question 2

What is depicted in this diagram?

Answer 2

Diagrammatic representationof a mandibular first molar tooth showingthe pulp cavity (chamber and root canals) and a furcation canal.

Question 3

Describe the study method used?

Answer 3

• 103 feline normal carnassial teeth (54 maxillary fourth premolar and 49 mandibular first molar teeth) extracted from 44 euthanized cats
• After extraction, teeth were radiographed mesiodistal and buccolingual/palatal aspects and placed in a 2.5 % sodium hypochlorite solution
• Teeth were then made transparent and then external structure of the teeth remained transparent with the endodontic canal system stainedblack
• The cleared specimens were immersed in methylsalicylate. and were examined using a stereo microscope and examined at 20x mag inorder to establish endodontic topography and measurements

Question 4

What was the prevalence of furcation canal in carnassial teeth of cats?

Answer 4

• 45.5% of the 44 cats had at least 1 furcation canal in one of their carnassial teeth
• 27.2% of the 103 feline carnassial teeth had furcation canal

Question 5

What was the width and direction of furcation canals in this study?

Answer 5

• mean width: 104.0 um (25.0 to 250.0 um) PM4 and M1
• Direction of canal:
  
  • Mx PM4: 100% perpendicular; 75% buccal; 25% palatal
  • Mn M1: 50% disto-mesial; 43% mesio-distal; 77% buccal, 23% lingual

Question 6

What does the confirmed presence of furcation canals in carnassial teeth raise awareness for?

Answer 6

• presence of communications between the pulp and preriodontium implies that an infectious or inflammatory process can extend between the pulp and periodontal tissue
• Patho of pulp, perio disease, excessive root planning or perio tx in furcation area may “open” the cementum seal of those furcation canals and contribute to perio-endo lesion

Question 7

What correlation between the furcation canals and resorption lesions is hypothesized?

Answer 7

• the relatively high percentage of feline carnassial teeth (as not detected in canine canassial teeth) could be a contributing factor in the etiopathogenesis of feline dental resorptive lesions
• this is further supported by the predominant buccal direction (75.%) of furcation canals coinciding with the prevalence of resorptive lesion on the buccal aspect of affected teeth

Question 8

CP: I condensed the important info in the 7 first flashcards, so for me the cards 8-13 can be deleted.

Question 9

How many of the extracted teeth had furcation canals?

Answer 9

When considering all 103 feline carnassial teeth studied 28 teeth (27.2 %) had furcation canal

Question 10

What was the mean width of the furcation canals?

Answer 10

The mean width of the furcation canals was 104.0pm, with a range of 25.0 to 250.0pm

Question 11

When viewed in a buccopalatal orientation what direction did the furcation canals course?

Answer 11

When viewed in a buccopalatal orientation, 75.0 % of the furcation canals coursed in a buccal direction while the remaining 25.0% had a palatal direction.

Question 12

Of the 49 mandibular molar teeth which were examined in a buccolingual orientation what percentage of canals deviated lingually versus buccally?

Answer 12

When the furcation canals were viewed in a buccolingual orientation,76.9% had canalswith a buccal direction while the remaining 23.1 % exhibited a lingual direction

Question 13

What feature of furcation canals potentially connects their existence to the incidence of resorptive lesions?

Answer 13

The potential involvement of furcation canals in RL is further supported by the predominant buccal direction 75.0 % of furcation canals coinciding with the prevalenceof RL on the buccal aspect of affected teeth