Corono-Radicular Length of Permanent Canine Teeth and Their Importance in Clinical Dentistry

Abstract

Introduction: Canines are the longest and bulkiest teeth, designed to withstand intense forces of occlusion. Usually exposed to coronal wear, endodontic treatment is often needed. For successful treatment, complete cleaning and shaping of the root canal is indispensable. To achieve this, it is necessary to know the anatomical parameters of the teeth, as reference measurements at the moment of determining the root canal working length. In Chile, referential teeth lengths for endodontic treatment are obtained from data of other populations, not necessarily consistent with the national anatomical parameters. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the average total length (ATL) of permanent canines and compare the measurements with the ATL published by Ingle & Bakland (2008) for these teeth. Materials and methods: ATL of 53 extracted permanent canines was determined. The teeth were obtained by the Department of Preclinical Endodontics at Universidad Mayor in Temuco, Chile. They were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The obtained data were statistically analyzed. Results: ATL for maxillary and mandibular canines was 27.22mm and 24.18mm respectively. ATL of maxillary canines was higher in the studied teeth than the reference (26.0 mm) (p< 0.05, one sample t-test), in contrast, the mandibular canine ATL was lower in the studied teeth than the reference (25.2 mm) (p< 0.05, one sample t-test). Statistically significant differences for ATL of both teeth were observed. Conclusion: It can be supposed that there are differences between classical anatomical teeth descriptions and the dental anatomy of specific populations.