Radiological assessment of the inferior alveolar canal and mental foramen using cone beam computed tomography for pre-operative evaluation of surgeries in the mandible: A single-center five-year retrospective study

Jamal Kensara; Raviraj Jayam; Meshal Almanea; Muslat A Bin Rubaia'an; Njood Alshareef; Hassan Abed

doi:10.1016/j.sdentj.2023.10.003

Radiological assessment of the inferior alveolar canal and mental foramen using cone beam computed tomography for pre-operative evaluation of surgeries in the mandible: A single-center five-year retrospective study

Saudi Dent J. 2024 Jan;36(1):91-98. doi: 10.1016/j.sdentj.2023.10.003. Epub 2023 Oct 5.

Authors

Jamal Kensara^{1

2}, Raviraj Jayam¹, Meshal Almanea¹, Muslat A Bin Rubaia'an¹, Njood Alshareef³, Hassan Abed³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental School, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Dentistry, King Faisal Hospital, Ministry of Health, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Basic and Clinical Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Introduction: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) plays a significant role in studying the anatomical structures of the mandible.

Aim: This retrospective study aimed to assess the role of CBCT at the pre-assessment stage of mandibular surgery.

Materials and methods: A total of 250 CBCT images were collected. The inferior alveolar canal (IAC) and mental foramen (MF) were measured bilaterally to the mandibular teeth apexes, including molars, premolars, and canines, to the buccal, lingual cortical bone, and to the inferior border of the mandible.

Results: There were no differences in the average number of extracted teeth between the right and left sides (P-value > 0.05, median = three teeth). It was noticed that the average measures of each point of the IAC and MF on the right side were closely matched to the similar point on the left side (P-value > 0.05). T-tests showed that there were differences between males and females on the M2 and M3 on the right side (P-value < 0.05) and on the M1, M2, and M3 on the left side (P-value < 0.05). Using one-way ANOVA tests, results showed that there were some differences in measures at P0 (F = 3.376, P-value = 0.003), P4 (F = 3.782, P-value = 0.001) on the right side, and at P3 (F = 5.620, P-value = 0.019) on the left side of the mandible.

Conclusions: There were no significant differences in IAC and MF positions between the right and left sides. However, between males and females, MF measurements showed significant differences on some points on the right and left sides. Although the history of extracted teeth showed no statistically significant difference in the location of IAC and MF, the number of extracted teeth showed an effect in the IAC position on the right and left sides, but not with the MF.

Keywords: CBCT; Dental extraction; Dental implants; Inferior alveolar canal; Mental foramen; Oral surgery.