Non-Cochrane · prognostic · PM42741005
Prevalence of the second mesiobuccal canal of maxillary molars in the South American population: a systematic review and meta-analysis of CBCT studies.
Poclin-Quispe Kevin José, Arbildo-Vega Heber Isac, Becerra-Suarez Fray L, et al. · Frontiers in dental medicine · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.3389/fdmed.2026.1928424
Findings
19 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first or second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Chile | Prevalence .57 [.50, .65] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first or second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Brazil | Prevalence .62 [.53, .72] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first or second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal | Prevalence .59 [.53, .66] High 23 studies |
| Permanent maxillary molars (first and second), South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Peru | Prevalence 0.40 [0.33, 0.47] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Permanent maxillary molars (first and second), South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Venezuela | Prevalence 0.49 [0.43, 0.55] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Permanent maxillary molars (first and second), South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Argentina | Prevalence 0.63 [0.57, 0.69] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Permanent maxillary first molars, South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Venezuela | Prevalence 0.49 [0.43, 0.55] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal | Prevalence .66 [.60, .72] High 21 studies |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Low risk of bias | Prevalence .69 GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Chile | Prevalence .68 [.64, .72] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary first molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Brazil | Prevalence .67 [.58, .77] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Permanent maxillary first molars, South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Argentina | Prevalence 0.63 [0.57, 0.69] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Brazil | Prevalence .43 [.26, .60] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Chile | Prevalence .39 [.26, .62] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal | Prevalence .41 [.31, .51] Moderate Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency 11 studies |
| Permanent maxillary second molars, South American patients, CBCT | CBCT assessment (examination) | Not applicable (single-proportion prevalence) | MB2 canal prevalence South America; CBCT · Country: Peru | Prevalence 0.40 [0.33, 0.47] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| South American patients with permanent maxillary second molars | CBCT assessment | None | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal Leave-one-out: Reis et al. excluded | Prevalence .37 GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Male South American patients with permanent maxillary first molars | CBCT assessment | Female patients with permanent maxillary first molars | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal | OR 1.08 [.95, 1.22] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Male South American patients with permanent maxillary second molars | CBCT assessment | Female patients with permanent maxillary second molars | Presence of second mesiobuccal canal | OR 1.35 [1.09, 1.67] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
Included primary studies 23
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martins 2018 Worldwide Analyses of Maxillary First Molar Second Mesiobuccal Prevalence: A Multicenter Cone-beam Computed Tomographic Study DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2018.07.027 | 2018 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Abarca 2015 Assessment of Mesial Root Morphology and Frequency of MB2 Canals in Maxillary Molars using Cone Beam Computed Tomography DOI:10.4067/s0717-95022015000400023 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Abuabara 2013 Efficacy of clinical and radiological methods to identify second mesiobuccal canals in maxillary first molars DOI:10.3109/00016357.2011.654262 | 2012 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Baratto Filho 2009 Analysis of the Internal Anatomy of Maxillary First Molars by Using Different Methods DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2008.11.022 | 2009 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Benazzo 2020 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Betancourt 2013 Prevalencia del segundo canal en la raíz mesiovestibular de los primeros molares maxilares mediante tomografía computarizada de haz de cono DOI:10.4321/s0213-12852013000100004 | 2013 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Betancourt 2015 Cone-beam computed tomography study of prevalence and location of MB2 canal in the mesiobuccal root of the maxillary second molar. PMID:26309568 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Betancourt 2016 Prevalence and location of the secondary mesiobuccal canal in 1,100 maxillary molars using cone beam computed tomography DOI:10.1186/s12880-016-0168-2 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Betancourt 2017 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Blank-Goncalves 2025 Anatomical Configuration of the MB2 Canal Using High-Resolution Cone-Beam Computed Tomography DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2025.01.006 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Borges 2025 DOI:10.5281/zenodo.15303396 | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Calero-Hinostroza 2017 Frecuencia del cuarto conducto y variaciones anatómicas en segundas y terceras molares superiores mediante tomografía computarizada de haz… DOI:10.21142/2523-2754-0502-2017-701-712 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Candeiro 2019 Internal configuration of maxillary molars in a subpopulation of Brazil’s Northeast region: A CBCT analysis DOI:10.1590/1807-3107bor-2019.vol33.0082 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Dufey 2023 Segundo Conducto Mesiovestibular en Molares Superiores: Prevalencia y Análisis Anatómico Mediante Tomografía Computarizada de Haz Cónico DOI:10.4067/s0717-95022023000401112 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Estrela 2015 Study of Root Canal Anatomy in Human Permanent Teeth in A Subpopulation of Brazil's Center Region Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography -… DOI:10.1590/0103-6440201302448 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Falcao 2016 Frequency of the mesiopalatal canal in upper first permanent molars viewed through computed tomography. PMID:27701499 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Gomes Alves 2018 DOI:10.22037/iej.v13i1.18007 | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Magalhaes 2022 Morphological Study of Root Canals of Maxillary Molars by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography DOI:10.1155/2022/4766305 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mohara 2019 Root Anatomy and Canal Configuration of Maxillary Molars in a Brazilian Subpopulation: A 125-μm Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Study DOI:10.1055/s-0039-1688736 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Normando 2022 Location of the Second Mesiobuccal Canal of Maxillary Molars in a Brazilian Subpopulation: Analyzing Using Cone-beam Computed Tomography DOI:10.5005/jp-journals-10024-3422 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Reis 2013 Second Canal in Mesiobuccal Root of Maxillary Molars Is Correlated with Root Third and Patient Age: A Cone-beam Computed Tomographic Study DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2013.01.003 | 2013 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Rios 2023 Descripción de la Morfología del Sistema de Canales Radiculares del Primer Molar Maxilar Mediante Tomografía Computarizada Cone-Beam en… DOI:10.4067/s0717-95022023000200477 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Silva 2014 Evaluation of Root Canal Configuration of Maxillary Molars in a Brazilian Population Using Cone-beam Computed Tomographic Imaging: An… DOI:10.1016/j.joen.2013.10.002 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of second mesiobuccal canal in maxillary first and second molar detected using cone-beam computed tomography in the Han… (2026) | 1 | 0.02 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Permanent maxillary first and second molars with complete root formation in patients residing in South American countries | 23 studies; 21 assessed maxillary first molars and 12 second molars; subjects 32 to 618; Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela |
| Intervention | Root canal system evaluated exclusively by CBCT (voxel size up to 0.3 mm) | CBCT (voxel size 76 to 500 um; small, medium and large FOV) |
| Comparison | Not applicable (prevalence review) | Not applicable (prevalence review) |
| Outcomes | Prevalence (absolute frequency or percentage) of the second mesiobuccal (MB2) canal, by molar type and sex | Pooled MB2 prevalence 59% overall, 66% first molars, 41% second molars; male versus female OR 1.08 (first molars), 1.35 (second molars) |
| Study designs | Observational studies (cross-sectional, descriptive, retrospective, prospective) published from 1990 | 23 cross-sectional and retrospective observational studies (n=23) |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |