Cone Beam CT Description of Mental Foramen Variants: A Review

Authors

  • Nuhad A. Hassan 1Department of Oral Medicine, College of Dentistry, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq.
  • Amal K. Jaloob 2Department of basic sciences, College of Dentistry, Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq
  • Abeer A. Aljoujou Department of Oral Medicine, College of Dentistry, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32828/mdj.v20i1.1147

Keywords:

Mental Foramen, cone beam CT, anatomy, implant, morphology

Abstract

The mental foramen (MF) is a crucial marker for local anesthetic, surgical, and implantology treatments. After passing through the mandibular canal, the inferior alveolar nerve and blood vessels exit the MF as the mental vascular nerve. On radiographs, MF appears as a round or oval area of radiolucency inferiorly to the corpus mandible on the lateral sides (left and right). Consideration must be given to its morphology, location, and anatomical variances to minimize mental nerve harm. The focus of this literature review is to find out whether cone beam CT (CBCT) can accurately evaluate MF anatomy  implantation and increase the clinician's understanding of this critical topic. Evidence-based research published between 1987 and 2022 was looked for in the literature using MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, the Iraq Virtual Science Library, and manual investigation of more sources. This was done to find articles that might be relevant. Between the two premolars, or apically to the second premolar, was where the MF was located most of the time. Men had larger mental foramens than women did, on average. Males tended to have a longer anterior loop than females. More frequently than panoramic, CBCT correctly identified the anterior loop and accessory MF.

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Published

30.06.2024

How to Cite

Cone Beam CT Description of Mental Foramen Variants: A Review. (2024). Mustansiria Dental Journal, 20(1), 53-60. https://doi.org/10.32828/mdj.v20i1.1147

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