Background and Aim: Anatomic variation in root morphology of permanent molars that have been reported pertain to the presence of additional roots, canals or fused roots and C-shaped canals. The occurrence of a single root in molars (SRM) is rare. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of single root molar in a large sample of Israeli population and to correlate the crown size of SRM to dental evolution of HS. Methods: 2425 panoramic radiographs of modern healthy patients were examined on a light table and the prevalence of SRM was determined. The crown width (MD) of the mandibular second molars of normal two rooted molars, single root molars and homologue two-rooted molars were measured using a digital caliber on a light table. The results of the crown width were compared to anthropological populations (Early HSS and Neanderthals) and archeological population from excavations in Israel from 3000 BC to 13-19 century AC. Results: The prevalence of single root molars in the modern population was 6.13%. No significant differences were found between males and females. In the upper jaw single root molar was found in both first and second molars while in the lower jaw only second molars showed SRM. In both the Neanderthal and Early HSS groups 1 case with single root molars were found. No single root molars were found in the archeological groups from Israel excavations (3000 years BC till 19th century AC). The size of the crown was relatively stable during evolution but during the modern period the MD size of the crown was significantly reduced. The crowns of the molars with single root showed significant reduction in comparison to two-rooted molars and even to homologues molars with two roots and the differences were significant statistically (P value<0.01). The homologue two-rooted second molars showed results between the normal population and single root molars. Discussion: This is the first analysis of the prevalence of single root molar in a large population of Israel. The results showed that the crown size is decreasing during the modern period and this reduction is increasing in single root molars, implicating that an on-going reduction in tooth size is happening, probably due to reduction of jaw size and the major changes in food processing and mastication forces.
| Published in | International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 13, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14 |
| Page(s) | 171-177 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Single Root Molars, Dental Evolution, Crown Size, Inter-apices Distance, Neanderthals, Early Homo sapiens sapiens
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APA Style
Maayan, S., Avraham, M., Michal, B. L., Fanny, H., Uri, Z. (2025). Single Root Molars- Prevalence in Modern Population and Its Relation to Dental Evolution. International Journal of Archaeology, 13(2), 171-177. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14
ACS Style
Maayan, S.; Avraham, M.; Michal, B. L.; Fanny, H.; Uri, Z. Single Root Molars- Prevalence in Modern Population and Its Relation to Dental Evolution. Int. J. Archaeol. 2025, 13(2), 171-177. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14
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author = {Sherman Maayan and Maatuk Avraham and Ben-Shitrit Librush Michal and Hershkovitz Fanny and Zilberman Uri},
title = {Single Root Molars- Prevalence in Modern Population and Its Relation to Dental Evolution
},
journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
volume = {13},
number = {2},
pages = {171-177},
doi = {10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.20251302.14},
abstract = {Background and Aim: Anatomic variation in root morphology of permanent molars that have been reported pertain to the presence of additional roots, canals or fused roots and C-shaped canals. The occurrence of a single root in molars (SRM) is rare. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of single root molar in a large sample of Israeli population and to correlate the crown size of SRM to dental evolution of HS. Methods: 2425 panoramic radiographs of modern healthy patients were examined on a light table and the prevalence of SRM was determined. The crown width (MD) of the mandibular second molars of normal two rooted molars, single root molars and homologue two-rooted molars were measured using a digital caliber on a light table. The results of the crown width were compared to anthropological populations (Early HSS and Neanderthals) and archeological population from excavations in Israel from 3000 BC to 13-19 century AC. Results: The prevalence of single root molars in the modern population was 6.13%. No significant differences were found between males and females. In the upper jaw single root molar was found in both first and second molars while in the lower jaw only second molars showed SRM. In both the Neanderthal and Early HSS groups 1 case with single root molars were found. No single root molars were found in the archeological groups from Israel excavations (3000 years BC till 19th century AC). The size of the crown was relatively stable during evolution but during the modern period the MD size of the crown was significantly reduced. The crowns of the molars with single root showed significant reduction in comparison to two-rooted molars and even to homologues molars with two roots and the differences were significant statistically (P valueDiscussion: This is the first analysis of the prevalence of single root molar in a large population of Israel. The results showed that the crown size is decreasing during the modern period and this reduction is increasing in single root molars, implicating that an on-going reduction in tooth size is happening, probably due to reduction of jaw size and the major changes in food processing and mastication forces.
},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Single Root Molars- Prevalence in Modern Population and Its Relation to Dental Evolution AU - Sherman Maayan AU - Maatuk Avraham AU - Ben-Shitrit Librush Michal AU - Hershkovitz Fanny AU - Zilberman Uri Y1 - 2025/11/26 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14 T2 - International Journal of Archaeology JF - International Journal of Archaeology JO - International Journal of Archaeology SP - 171 EP - 177 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7595 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20251302.14 AB - Background and Aim: Anatomic variation in root morphology of permanent molars that have been reported pertain to the presence of additional roots, canals or fused roots and C-shaped canals. The occurrence of a single root in molars (SRM) is rare. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of single root molar in a large sample of Israeli population and to correlate the crown size of SRM to dental evolution of HS. Methods: 2425 panoramic radiographs of modern healthy patients were examined on a light table and the prevalence of SRM was determined. The crown width (MD) of the mandibular second molars of normal two rooted molars, single root molars and homologue two-rooted molars were measured using a digital caliber on a light table. The results of the crown width were compared to anthropological populations (Early HSS and Neanderthals) and archeological population from excavations in Israel from 3000 BC to 13-19 century AC. Results: The prevalence of single root molars in the modern population was 6.13%. No significant differences were found between males and females. In the upper jaw single root molar was found in both first and second molars while in the lower jaw only second molars showed SRM. In both the Neanderthal and Early HSS groups 1 case with single root molars were found. No single root molars were found in the archeological groups from Israel excavations (3000 years BC till 19th century AC). The size of the crown was relatively stable during evolution but during the modern period the MD size of the crown was significantly reduced. The crowns of the molars with single root showed significant reduction in comparison to two-rooted molars and even to homologues molars with two roots and the differences were significant statistically (P valueDiscussion: This is the first analysis of the prevalence of single root molar in a large population of Israel. The results showed that the crown size is decreasing during the modern period and this reduction is increasing in single root molars, implicating that an on-going reduction in tooth size is happening, probably due to reduction of jaw size and the major changes in food processing and mastication forces. VL - 13 IS - 2 ER -
Pediatric Dental Unit, Barzilai Medical University Center, Ashkelon, Israel
Pediatric Dental Unit, Barzilai Medical University Center, Ashkelon, Israel
Pediatric Dental Unit, Barzilai Medical University Center, Ashkelon, Israel
Pediatric Dental Unit, Barzilai Medical University Center, Ashkelon, Israel
Pediatric Dental Unit, Barzilai Medical University Center, Ashkelon, Israel
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