ABSTRACT
Aim: To provide morphometrical information on the shape, position, number and size of mental foramen in dryhuman mandibles. The knowledge on the anatomy of mental foramen is very important in clinical dentistry,surgical procedures and nerve blocks, to avoid injuries to the neurovascular bundle in the mental foramen.Material and Methods: This study was conducted on 45 dry adult human mandibles in the Department ofAnatomy, College of Dentistry, Ajman University, Ajman, U.A.E. The shape and number of mental foramen werestudied by visual examination. The size and position of the mental foramen were measured using Vernier caliper.The excel software was used for the statistical analysis.Results: In our study, bilateral mental foramen were present in all the mandibles.The majority of mandibles wereoval in shape with 71.12% on left side and 66.67% on the right side. The most common position for mentalforamen was found to be along the longitudinal axis passing between the 2nd premolar and 1st molar teeth with44.45% on the left side and 46.66% on the right side respectively. The mean vertical diameter of mental foramenwas found to be 3.23 mm on left side and 3.33 mm on the right , whereas the horizontal diameter was found to be4.05 mm on the left side and 4.21 mm on the right side. We also found the higher incidence of postero-superiorlydirected mental foramen on both sides with 55.33% on left and 44.45% on right side. Their was no incidence ofaccessory mental foramen in any mandibles studied.Conclusion: Our study will be a helpful supplement to the data collected previously on the variation in theincidence, position, shape and size of mental foramen. It will provide useful information to dental surgeons,anesthetics and neurosurgeons to carry out nerve block and surgical procedures like apical curettage ofmandibular premolars and periodontal surgery. We did not come across any accessory mental foramen in any45 mandibles studied