Mandibular Canal Duplication Prevalence, Digital Panoramic Radiography Analysis

Abstract

The increase in the number of surgical procedures in the mandibular region requires a new perspective into anatomical landmarks such as the mandibular canal and its imagenological aspect. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of the alterations in the number of mandibular canals in digital panoramic images obtained from patients of a private radiological center of the Maule region. The study period was from March to December 2008. A total of 350 panoramic digital X-ray images were analyzed by examining them for hemi-mandibles (n = 700) and quantifying the alterations of the number of mandibular canal. There were 35 cases of bifurcations to the mandibular canal, corresponding to 5 % of the sample in the study. The obtained information indicates a major prevalence described by the literature, which reinforces the need of a larger study of the radiographic images of the mandibular canal, considering the difficult managing of a surgical complication on this anatomical structure.

Anatomical variations of mandibular canal detected by panoramic radiography and CT: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…28 In rare cases with large diameters, the foramen was located in the anterior temporal crest of the coronoid process. 28 Seven studies 3,21,30,34,36,37,39 evaluated the presence of a bifid mandibular canal through panoramic radiography. There was no statistically significant difference based on sex.…”

“…21 The studies were conducted in nine different countries: Brazil, 30,34,36,37 Canada, 28 Chile, 39 India, 33 Korea, 29,31,32,35 South Africa, 3 Spain, 18 Taiwan 38 and USA. 21 Most of the articles were published in English, 3,18,21,28,29,[31][32][33][34][35]38,39 and three articles were published in Portuguese. 30,36,37 Most studies included imaging examinations of patients referred for lower third molar surgery and implant placement.…”

“…28 The rest 3,18,21,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] of the studies were published in dental journals. Sample sizes ranged from 308 38 to 1933 32 CT images and from 350 39 to 6000 panoramic radiographic images.…”

“…28 The rest 3,18,21,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] of the studies were published in dental journals. Sample sizes ranged from 308 38 to 1933 32 CT images and from 350 39 to 6000 panoramic radiographic images. 21 The studies were conducted in nine different countries: Brazil, 30,34,36,37 Canada, 28 Chile, 39 India, 33 Korea, 29,31,32,35 South Africa, 3 Spain, 18 Taiwan 38 and USA.…”

“…The following tools were used: human dry skulls and in situ analysis, 28,33 panoramic radiography, 3,21,30,34,36,37,39 panoramic radiography and CT, 18 CBCT 29,31,32,35 and CBCT and CT. 38 A summary of the descriptive characteristics of included articles is provided in Table 1.…”