Morphologic and morphometric characteristics of the mental foramen on Cone-beam Computed Tomographic images

Abstract

Background: Morphologic and morphometric characteristics of mental foramen are heterogeneous among the population in terms of the location, shape and symmetry. In 1990 Y.Arai and P.Mozzo introduced Introduction of Cone Beam Computer Tomography method by Arai and Mozzo (1990) allowed the precise visualization of mental foramen in order to prevent mental nerve damage during dental treatment. It was possible to know the location of the foramen mental in detail. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted by retrospective research method on CBCT images of 108 patients aged 19-39. The horizontal position of mental foramen was determined using H.G Tebo and I.B Telford method (1950). Mental foramen vertical and horizontal dimensions and their shapes were determined, as well. height and width of the (M.Alrahabi method, 2018). The presence of additional mental foramena were checked. Results: In terms of the location, position I by Tebo and Telford (47.7%) was mostly identified. Oval (46.3%) and round (41.7%) shaped foramena were identified in dominance. Conclusion: In 60.1% of the cases, the position of the right and the left foramena were symmetrical. The incidence additional mental foramen 27.7%. In our study, we identified the shape, size, location and other parameters of the mental foramen on in CBCT images. The survey data can be used as a reference during dental therapeutic procedures.