Introduction: This meta-analysis sought to identify the in vivo prevalence and influencing factors of middle mesial canal (MMC) in mandibular first and second molars based on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans.
Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, Google Scholar databases/search engines were searched in period between 15th and 21st November 2022, to retrieve the in vivo CBCT-based studies that assessed the prevalence of MMC in mandibular first and/or second molars. The studies were strictly assessed using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria for relevancy and eligibility through screening the title and abstract, and then assessed through reading the full texts using the same criteria. Subsequently, the fulfilled studies were assessed qualitatively using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale, and quantitatively using meta-analysis to calculate the pooled prevalence rates of MMC. The publication bias was assessed using funnel plot and Egger's test.
Results: Out of 1122 studies, 33 studies comprised of 13,349 and 7624 mandibular first and second molars, respectively, were eligible for inclusion. Twenty studies scored high quality, while 13 scored moderate quality. The global prevalence of MMC in the first molar was 4.4% (95% CI = 0.035-0.053, P < .001), significantly higher than that of the second molar which was 1.3% (95%, CI = 0.008-0.018, P < .001). Gender, molar side, and age were not influencing factors of MMC prevalence.
Conclusions: The prevalence of MMC is not uncommon, being higher in the mandibular first molar compared to the mandibular second molar. The prevalence of MMC is not influenced by age, molar's side, and gender.
Keywords: Cone-beam computed tomography; mandibular molars; middle mesial canal; morphology; root canal anatomy.
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