Journal of Dental Science, Oral and Maxillofacial Research Treating mandibular molars with extra roots -Radix entomolaris Philip Pradeep, 1 Gurudutt Nayak, 2 Neha Arya 3 1 Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Penang International Dental College, Malaysia 2 Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Mansarovar Dental College & Hospital, India 3 Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Seema Dental College & Hospital, India Correspondence: Philip Pradeep, Lecturer, Department of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics, Penang International Dental College, Penang, Malaysia, 12000, Tel +60 16 5153342, Email philippradeep@pidc.edu.my Received: May 30, 2018 | Published: June 05, 2018 Copyright© 2018 Pradeep et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Submit your Article | www.ologypress.com/submit-article Ology Press Citation: Pradeep P, Nayak G, Arya N. Treating mandibular molars with extra roots -Radix entomolaris. J Dent Maxillofacial Res. (2018);1(1):13–16. DOI: 10.30881/jdsomr.00005 Introduction Cleaning and shaping of the root canals plays a vital role in eliminating endodontic pathology. In order for endodontic therapy to be successful, it is better for the clinician to be aware of the presence of unusual root canal morphology. 1 Anatomical variations of the mandibular molars have been reported time and again. Generally, the mesial root possesses two root canals, ending in two distinct apical foramina. In some cases, they merge together at the root tip to exit in a single foramen. On the other hand, the distal root typically portrays a single kidney-shaped root canal, although if the orifce is particularly narrow and round, a second distal canal may be present. 2 Numerous anatomical variations of the mandibular frst molar have been reported by Fabra-Campos, 3,4 Bond 5 (three mesial canals), and Stroner 6 (three distal canals). It is not just the root canals which show anatomic variations; in some cases the tooth may be found to have an extra root. An additional root located distolingually is called radix entomolaris (RE), and when located mesiobuccally is called radix paramolaris (RP).The Latin term RE was coined by Mihaly Lenhossek in 1922 to describe the supernumerary root on the lingual aspect of mandibular molars. Bolk in 1915 named it radix praemolarica, as he presumed only the mandibular frst molars displayed such a variant. In the later years, this additional root was also found to occur on the mandibular second and third molars, and even on the frst and second primary mandibular molars. Some authors prefer to use the following terms, either separately or interchangeably with RE: distolingual root, distolingual extra root, additional distal root and extra distal root. When it comes to the second and third permanent mandibular molars, the RE may be located mesiolingually, or exactly midway between both main roots. Hence, the usage of the broad term RE over positional terms is that it covers all variants of this root and therefore applies to all types of mandibular molars. 7 This typical morphological variant does seem to show a strong racial predilection. According to Tratman (1938), the frequency of occurrence is found to be less than 5% in Eurasian and Indian subgroups. The frequency is much higher in populations demonstrating Mongoloid traits, ranging from 5 to over 30%. 1 In Caucasians, however, this percentage drops down to 3.2-4.2%. Table 1 shows studies carried out by various researchers to demonstrate the prevalence of extra canals in mandibular frst molars. 8 An RE can be found on the frst, second and third mandibular molar, occurring least frequently on the second molar. 9 Some studies report a bilateral occurrence of the RE from 50 to 67%. 10,11 The present article describes the endodontic management of mandibular frst and second molar with RE. The identifcation of this variation was done with the help of multi-angled radiographs. Case Report Abstract On occasion, the clinician will come across a mandibular molar with an extra root located either lingually (the radix entomolaris) or buccally (the radix paramolaris). On encountering such cases in the clinic, it is always better for the dentist to have a sound knowledge of the variant root canal morphology beforehand. This report deals with the management of radix entomolaris cases, which might leave the inexperienced clinician in a dilemma with respect to diagnosis and subsequent treatment. Keywords: radix entomolaris, radix paramolaris, distolingual root