CBCT Assessment of Root Canal Number in Maxillary Third Molars: A Retrospective Study in a Libyan Subpopulation (Zliten City)

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the number of roots of maxillary third molar teeth of the Libyan subpopulation at Zliten city, to compare the incidence of root number in different side locations, and to compare the prevalence of root number in different genders. Out of 2078 CBCT images, only 806 images that had been met the inclusion criteria of this study (the CBCT images were collected from Al-Tasneem Private Dental Poly-Clinics in Zliten city during the period January 2024 until May 2025). 432 (53.6%) of CBCT images were related to women, whereas 374 (46.4%) images were related to men. On another hand, 425 (52.7%) were right-sided teeth, while 381 (47.3%) were left-sided teeth. 367(45.5%) of CBCT images showed four root canals, which were the most common number of root canals of maxillary third molar teeth in the Libyan subpopulation at Zliten city, while five root canals were the lowest incidence. The incidences of single root canals and double root canals were higher in women than in men. Inversely, the prevalence of three and five root canals in men was higher than the women. The incidences of four root canals were almost equal in women and men (45.8% and 45.2% respectively). The incidences of all numbers of root canals were not significantly different based on tooth locations. The root canals of maxillary third molar teeth in the Libyan subpopulation at Zliten city ranged between 1 to 5 root canals.  None of the five root canals had bilateral incidences.