ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the anatomical characteristics of mandibular incisive canal and to describe the occurrence of anatomical variations according to side, age and gender using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: A retrospective study using CBCT images was performed to evaluate mandibular incisive canal in mandible of 100 patients. Both right and left sides were studied (n = 200). Axial, sagittal, cross-sectional and panoramic images were evaluated, and three dimensional images were also reconstructed and evaluated, as necessary. The morphology, course and length of mandibular incisive canals and the inner and outer diameters of the canals were measured. Results: The incisive canal was found in 87% of the scans. The mean endpoint was approximately 10.98 and 10.26 mm anterior to the mental foramen for left and right side, respectively, without a significant difference (p > 0.05). The mean distance from the lower border of the mandible was 10.7 mm and its course was closer to the buccal border at the starting point while it deviates lingually through the anterior of the mandible. Significant difference was found between gender, side and age groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Awareness of these anatomical variations is important to avoid neurovascular damage during surgical intervention and anaesthetic applications. Cone beam computed tomography is an effective imaging modality in the detection of lingual foramina and canals. Further studies with larger data samples are necessary in comparison and estimation of anatomical results.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the complex course of the mandibular canal using 3D reconstruction of microCT images and to provide the diagram for clinicians to help them understand at the interforaminal region in Korean. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-six hemimandibles obtained from cadavers were examined using microCT, and the images were reconstructed. At both the midpoint of mental foramen and the tip of anterior loop, the bucco-lingual position, the height from the mandibular inferior border, the horizontal distance between two points, and position relative to tooth site on the mandibular canal were measured. The angle that the mental canal diverges from the mandibular canal was measured in posteriorsuperior and lateral-superior direction. RESULTS: The buccal distance from the mandibular canal was significantly much shorter than lingual distance at both the mental foramen and the tip of anterior loop. The mandibular canal at the tip of anterior loop was significantly located closer to buccal side and higher than at the mental foramen. And the mental canal most commonly diverged from the mandibular canal below the first premolar by approximately 50° posterior-superior and 41° lateral-superior direction, which had with a mean length of 5.19 mm in front of the mental foramen, and exited to the mental foramen below the second premolar. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that it could form a hazardous tetrahedron space at the interforaminal region, thus, the clinician need to pay attention to the width of a premolar tooth from the mental foramen during dental implant placement.
Subject(s)
Bicuspid , Cadaver , Dental Implants , Tooth , X-Ray MicrotomographyABSTRACT
The mandibular canal divides into the mental and incisive canals at the premolar region, forms the anterior loop which crosses anterior to the mental foramen, and turns back to reach the mental foramen. The aim of this study was to elucidate the general anatomical structure of the anterior loop of the mandibular canal using morphometry. Twenty-six hemimandibles from 19 cadavers (16 males, 3 females; mean age at death, 54.4 years) were studied by meticulous dissection with the aid of a surgical microscope. The location of the anterior loop, the diameters of the mandibular, mental, and incisive canals, and their distances from bony landmarks were measured using digital calipers. The anterior loop of the mandibular canal was located 3.05+/-1.15 mm (mean+/-SD) anterior to the anterior margin of the mental foramen and 2.72+/-1.41 mm inferior to the superior margin of the mental foramen, and was 4.34+/-1.46 mm long. The diameters of the mandibular, mental, and incisive canals were 2.8+/-0.49, 2.63+/-0.64, and 2.22+/-0.59 mm, respectively. The distances between the inferior border of the mandible and each of these canals were 7.82+/-1.52, 10.11+/-1.27, and 9.08+/-1.66 mm, respectively. The anterior loop of the mandibular canal was located a mean of 3.1 mm anterior and 2.7 mm inferior to the mental foramen, and continued upward and backward into the mental canal, and forward into the incisive canal. These detailed morphological features of the anterior loop of the mandibular canal represent useful practical anatomical knowledge regarding the interforaminal region.