RESUMO
The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of the position of the mental foramen according to age by using panorama of children with mixed and early permanent dentition. 180 panorama of 6 to 13-year-old boys and girls were analyzed and PiView(Infinitt, Korea) program was used.The horizontal position of the mental foramen was evaluated by the relative position of the teeth. The vertical position of the mental foramen was evaluated by the ratios between the distance from the center of the mental foramen to the inferior border of the mandible and the distance from to the alveolar crest to the inferior border of the mandible.The mental foramen was horizontally located in the anterior aspect of the second primary molar(premolar), and vertically slight below the half of mandibular body. As the age increased, it moved to the posterior and the downward and showed a significant correlation with age.