International Journal of Tropical Medicine
ISSN: Online 1818-779XISSN: Print 1816-3319
Abstract
The recent trend of replacement of missing teeth by dental implants and the increasing frequency of orthognathic surgeries have highlighted the clinical significance of the mental foramen. The mental foramen is a small foramen which is located in the anterolateral aspect of the body of the mandible. It transmits the mental nerve and the vessels. This study was conducted on 109 dried adult human mandibles in the Department of Anatomy, Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Sciences,Ballari, Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences, Haveri, Karnataka, India. Parameters like incidence, shape, distance from surrounding landmarks, diameters (horizontal and vertical diameters), position and direction of the mental foramen were recorded. The incidence, position and the distance of accessory mental foramen from the mental foramen were noted. Mental foramen was present bilaterally in all the mandibles studied. The most prevalent shape was found to be oval shape. 67.89% of the foramen were oval on the right side and 74.31% on the left side. The mean horizontal diameter of mental foramen(HD) was 2.12±0.65mm on the right side and 2.97±0.72mm on the left side and the mean vertical diameter of mental foramen(VD) was 2.85±0.82mm on the right side and 2.60±0.89mm on the left side. The most commonly present position of the MF was position 4 followed by position 3. Majority of the foramen were directed anteriorly followed by posteriorly directed foramen. The accessory mental foramen was found in 14(12.84%) mandibles on the right side and 6(5.5%) mandibles on the left side. No specimen showed bilateral accessory mental foramen. The accessory mental foramen was situated below the apex of the first molar tooth. Average distance between mental foramen and accessory mental foramen was 0.59mm lateral to mental foramen. Prior knowledge of mental foramen variations helps surgeons in planning surgery in that region to avoid nerve damage and also enable effective mental nerve block anesthesia.
How to cite this article:
B. Poornima, V.B. Tejashwini, S. Shabnam and Gavishiddappa A. Hadimani. Morphometric Study of Mental Foramen in Dry Human Mandibles.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/10.59218/makijtm.2024.2.78.82
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1816-3319/10.59218/makijtm.2024.2.78.82