Morphometric aspects and proposal of a new classification of genial tubercles in cone-beam computed tomography in a Brazilian population

Daniel Almeida Ferreira Barbosa; Lucca Reis Mesquita; Lúcio Mitsuo Kurita; Paulo Goberlânio Barros Silva; Filipe Nobre Chaves; Renata Cordeiro Teixeira; Fábio Wildson Gurgel Costa

doi:10.1016/j.jobcr.2022.09.016

Morphometric aspects and proposal of a new classification of genial tubercles in cone-beam computed tomography in a Brazilian population

J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2023 Jan-Feb;13(1):13-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2022.09.016. Epub 2022 Oct 3.

Authors

Daniel Almeida Ferreira Barbosa¹, Lucca Reis Mesquita¹, Lúcio Mitsuo Kurita¹, Paulo Goberlânio Barros Silva², Filipe Nobre Chaves³, Renata Cordeiro Teixeira⁴, Fábio Wildson Gurgel Costa¹

Affiliations

¹ Departament of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Federal University of Ceará, Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.
² Departament of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Unichristus University Center, Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.
³ Post-graduated Program in Science Health, Federal University of Ceará Campus Sobral, Ceará, Sobral, Brazil.
⁴ Departament of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Unifor Univsersity Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil.

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated epidemiological and morphological aspects of genial tubercles (GTs) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Methods: This retrospective, observational and cross-sectional study evaluated 276 tomographs of adult dentate individuals (18-69 years). The presence and absence of GTs were evaluated, and in cases in which this structure was observed, linear measurements (length, height, and width), and anatomical distances. In addition, a GT classification was proposed based on the presence, number, and location of the tubercles.

Results: Of the 276 CT scans, 28 (10.14%) had absence of GTs and in 248 CT scans GTs were present, of which 42 (57.5%) were from females and 106 (42.5%) from males. Regarding the number of GTS, the most prevalent variant was the two-tubercle-variant (143, 57.7%), followed by the presence of a single tubercle (n = 62, 25.0%), 3 tubercles (n = 40, 16.1%) and 4 tubercles (n = 3, 1.2%). The most prevalent classification was IIIA (n = 96, 38.7%), followed by IIIB (n = 60, 36.3%), IIA (n = 53, 21.4%) and IIB (n = 9, 3.6%).

Conclusion: A prevalence of GT of approximately 90% was observed, with two GTs per exam as the most frequent finding. Men had a longer mean GT length compared to women. Female individuals exhibited a shorter distance from the base of the GT to the base of the mandible.

Keywords: Anatomy; Cone-beam computed tomography; Genial tubercle; Mandible.