Revista OMICS de Radiología

Abstracto

Three-Dimensional Analysis of Mandibular Foramen Location: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography Study

Osman Sami AĞLARCI, Enes GÜNGÖR, Mustafa ALTUNSOY, Bilge NUR, Evren OK and Mehmet ÇOLAK

Purpose: The mandibular foramen (MF) is the beginning of the mandibular canal located on the internal surface of the ramus mandible. The authors aimed to determine the three-dimensional position of MF to guide clinician for inferior alveolar nerve block and surgical procedures. Methods: CBCT images of 571 mandibular foramens from 286 patients (146 female, 140 male) aged between 8-69 years were evaluated. Up to the age of 18 were considered as growth group, and the others as adult group. Distances from midpoint of the MF to anatomic landmarks measured. Mann-Whitney U test, univariate varience of analysis and Spearman’s correlation were performed for the statistical comparisons. Results: MF is positioned nearly 1.58 mm behind the midpoint of the ramus horizontally 4.27 mm above the midpoint vertically. There were a significant difference for location of MF among gender, and for width, height and distance to occlusal plane between growth and adult groups. Measured distances were significantly correlated with age only in growth group. Clinical Significance Taking into consideration the anatomy and age of the patient may help better locate the MF for promoting successful and safe treatment procedures with reduced complications.