The usage of the terms mandibular canal, inferior alveolar canal, and inferior dental canal in the academia: a bibliometric analysis / El uso de los términos canal mandibular, canal alveolar inferior y canal dental inferior en la academia: un análisis bibliométrico

SUMMARY: A recent study found that the mandibular canal might be preferably called the inferior alveolar canal in recent publication years, certain journal categories, countries and departments with which the authors were affiliated. The canal can also be called the inferior dental canal that was not included in that study. This bibliometric analysis was conducted to evaluate the entire relevant literature, and to investigate if inferior alveolar canal was trending over the years. The Web of Science Core Collection electronic database was searched to identify publications exclusively mentioning mandibular canal, inferior alveolar canal, inferior dental canal, and publications mentioning them in combinations. Publication year, country of contributing authors, journal category, journal title, and citation count were recorded for the resultant publications. There were 1152 publications analyzed. Mandibular canal has always been the dominating term since the 1990s, whereas inferior alveolar canal seemed to become slightly more popular in the 2010s than in the past. Journals from dentistry, surgery, radiology, anatomy, and medicine all showed a preference towards mandibular canal. Leading dental surgery journals had a higher ratio of inferior alveolar canal usage than their dental radiology counterparts. Top 20 countries showed a preference towards mandibular canal except Saudi Arabia, which had 57.7 % of publications using inferior alveolar canal exclusively. Publications mentioning mandibular canal, inferior alveolar canal, and inferior dental canal did not differ in averaged citation count. The term mandibular canal was still dominating in all academic fields. The term inferior alveolar canal showed increased usage in the 2010s without an increasing trend. The argumentation of renaming mandibular canal as inferior alveolar canal has yet to accumulate considerable traction.

RESUMEN: Un estudio reciente encontró que el canal mandibular ha sido llamado en los últimos, canal alveolar inferior en ciertas categorías de revistas, países y departamentos con algunos autores asociadas a estas. El canal también se puede denominar canal dental inferior término que no se incluyó en ese estudio. Este análisis bibliométrico se realizó para evaluar la literatura relevante e investigar la frecuencia del uso de canal alveolar inferior en el tiempo. Se buscó en la base de datos electrónica de Web of Science Core Collection para identificar publicaciones que mencionan exclusivamente canal mandibular, canal alveolar inferior, canal dental inferior y publicaciones que las mencionan en combinaciones. El año de publicación, el país de los autores contribuyentes, la categoría de la revista, el título de la revista y el recuento de citas se registraron para las publicaciones resultantes. Se analizaron 1152 publicaciones. Desde la década de 1990, canal mandibular siempre ha sido el término predominante, mientras que canal alveolar inferior pareció volverse algo más popular en la década de 2010. Las revistas de odontología, cirugía, radiología, anatomía y medicina mostraron una preferencia por canal mandibular. Las principales revistas de cirugía dental tenían una proporción más alta de uso de canal alveolar inferior que sus contrapartes de radiología dental. Los principales 20 países mostraron una preferencia por canal mandibular, excepto Arabia Saudita, que tenía un 57,7 % de las publicaciones que usaban exclusivamente canal alveolar inferior. Las publicaciones que mencionan canal mandibular, canal alveolar inferior e canal dental inferior no difirieron en el recuento promedio de citas. El término canal mandibular todavía predomina en todos los campos académicos. El término canal alveolar inferior mostró un mayor uso en la década de 2010 sin una tendencia creciente, sin embargo el argumento de cambiar el nombre de canal mandibular a canal alveolar inferior en el futuro deberá ser ratificado.

Anatomical positions of the inferior dental canal and its relationship with impacted lower third molars in 18-to 29-year-old Ecuadorians

The third molars are the dental organs with the most variations in terms of their formation and time of eruption, which can cause several pathologies. The incidence of third molar impaction varies between 20% and 30%, with predominance in females. Through the inferior dental canal, goes the inferior dental nerve to innervate the molars and lower premolars. Recent studies on variations in the position of the lower dental canal have shown a low incidence of variations. Objective: To determine the prevalence of anatomical variations of the inferior dental canal in relation to impacted lower third molars, by means of digital image analysis in patients who attended the X-Ray Imaging Center in Azogues in 2016. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who attended the center X-Ray Imaging Center in Azogues in 2016. The following variables were analyzed: sex, age, variation of the position of the inferior dental canal in relation to the third impacted molar, the radiographic details according to the Monaco classification, and tooth position according to the Winter classification. In total, 64 radiographs were analyzed. Results: It was found that 5% of participants showed no relation of the inferior dental canal with the lower third molar, 72% had a relation of the dental canal with the third molar, and 23% presented with absence of the third molar. According to the Winter classification, the prevalence was 53% mesioangular, 18% horizontal, 19% vertical, 6% vestibuloversion, and 4% inverted. Conclusion: The third molars present high indexes of relation with the inferior dental canal in 18- to 29-year-old Ecuadorians