The assumption that the palatal (PAL) root of maxillary molars has significantly greater attachment area than either the mesiobuccal (MB) or the distobuccal (DB) root was tested by documenting the root surface area of the individual roots and root trunks of 20 extracted maxillary first molars. Each molar was cross sectioned every millimeter, and the circumference of each root and root trunk section was measured with a calibrated opisometer. Mean circumferential measurements from each 1-mm section were summed to give the surface area for each root and root trunk. The DB root had significantly less surface area than either the MB or PAL root or the root trunk. There was no significant difference between the surface areas of the MB and PAL roots. The surface area of the root trunk, which was significantly greater than that of any of the three individual roots, averaged 32% of the total root surface area of the maxillary first molar.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.