Examination of canalis sinuosus using cone beam computed tomography in an Australian population

Abstract

Background: Canalis sinuosus (CS) and its relationship with adjacent teeth is relevant for surgery in the anterior maxilla. Therefore, the aim of this study was to report the prevalence, characteristics and variations of CS. Methods: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of the anterior maxilla of 201 patients were reviewed. CS and the adjacent teeth were analysed by age, gender and scan resolution, using analysis of variance, Chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests. The widest and narrowest diameters of CS, and distance to tooth apex (DTA), were compared by quadrant, closest tooth and location, and the associations were examined statistically with P < 0.05. Results: In the 201 scans, 412 CS were identified in 198 patients associated with 395 different teeth. Mean widest diameter was 1.08 AE 0.39 mm (range: 0.42-2.60 mm), while the narrowest diameter was 0.71 AE 0.26 mm (range: 0.25-1.59 mm); and mean DTA of 2.16 AE 1.25 mm (range: 0-6.22 mm). CS detection was significantly lower with CBCT taken at resolution size of 0.250 voxels (P = 0.02). Conclusions: CS was very common in the anterior maxilla. Clinicians would be well advised to identify this anatomical structure using CBCT before undertaking any surgery in the anterior maxilla.

Alveolar Branches of Canalis Sinuosus: A Radiographic and Morphometric Assessment by Cone Beam Computed Tomography

“…It looks more correct to think of ABCS as a variation in the anterior maxilla when it is wide, for example wider than 1 mm in diameter. The current study reports no correlation between the age and presence of ABCS which is concordant with previous studies [12,13,15,17,19,20].…”

“…The increase in visibility of ABCS in recent years, has already been linked to the widespread use of CBCT in dentistry and high resolution and detail it provided [23]. Besides that, although we detected more ABCS per scan as the size of voxels decreased in our study, Yeap et al [20] did not nd a signi cant difference between voxel sizes in terms of the number of canals. Their study included 95.5% of scans with small voxel sizes under 200 µm.…”

“…Their study differs from the others in terms of considering all branches of CS in the region of nasal cavity oor, beside the ones in extending to the alveolar process of the maxilla, even though some of their trajectories ended at the base of the nasal cavity or maxillary sinus region. Besides that, Yeap et al [20] recently reported 98.5% ABCS incidence in an Australian population, declaring that this is a normal anatomy. It looks more correct to think of ABCS as a variation in the anterior maxilla when it is wide, for example wider than 1 mm in diameter.…”

“…Machado et al [13] found the mean diameter of ABCS to be 1.19 mm, and the rate of those with a diameter ≥ 1 mm as 20%. And Yeap et al [20] reported the mean widest diameter as 1.08 mm for all ABCSs at the level of the tooth apex. Since the diameter of the canal is related to the thickness of the neurovascular bundle inside, wide canals are considered to be more risky in terms of serious bleeding and complications in surgical interventions.…”

Prevalence, Radiographic Features and Clinical Relevancy of Accessory Canals of the Canalis Sinuosus in Cypriot Population: A Retrospective Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Study

“…Yeap et al [ 32 ] also conducted a study to examine the CS in the Australian population using CBCT, and they reported at least one CS on 198 scans with 98.5% prevalence. The high prevalence reported in their study is in accordance with our results.…”