Morphological changes in the position of the mandibular foramen in dentate and edentate Brazilian subjects

Abstract

This study assessed the mandibular foramen (MF) position variability in dentate and edentate Brazilian mandibles. Eighty dentate and 79 edentate mandibles of unknown sex were measured bilaterally using a digital caliper (0.1-mm precision). Horizontal linear measurements (HM) were done from the MF to the anterior border of the mandibular ramus (MF-A) and from the MF to the posterior border of the mandibular ramus (MF-B). Vertical linear measurements (VM) were done from the MF to the most inferior point of the mandibular notch (MF-C) and from the MF to the inferior border of the mandibular ramus (MF-D). Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (alpha = 5%). The HM means and standard deviations (+/-SD) for MF-A were, edentate right (ER): 17.5 (+/-3.2) mm, edentate left (EL): 17.4 (+/-3.4) mm, dentate right (DR): 19.2 (+/-3.6) mm, and dentate left (DL): 18.8 (+/-3.8) mm. The means (+/-SD) for the MF-B measurements were, respectively, ER: 12.8 (+/-2.4) mm, EL: 12.9 (+/-2.3) mm, DR: 14.2 (+/-2.4) mm, and DL: 13.9 (+/-2.6) mm. The VM values for the MF-C measurements were, ER: 23.4 (+/-3.8) mm, EL: 22.9 (+/-3.7) mm, DR: 23.6 (+/-3.1) mm, and DL: 23.1 (+/-3) mm, and for the MF-D measurements, ER: 26.4 (+/-4.2) mm, EL: 26.4 (+/-4) mm, DR 28.3 (+/-3.9) mm, and DL 28 (+/-3.8) mm. Side had no influence (p>0.05) on any edentate or dentate mandible measurement. Dentate mandible measurements showed statistically significant differences compared to the edentate mandibles, except for MF-C. The mandibular foramen position changes with loss of teeth and this variability may be responsible for occasional failure of inferior alveolar nerve block.

Oral Territorial Neurovascular Considerations in Implant Surgery

“…Variations in nerve architecture like these are of importance to clinicians who deal with surgery of the facial skeleton. Morphological changes of mandibular or mental foramen and variations of the nerve have also been described by many authors (Ramadhan et al, 2010;Prado et al, 2010;Manikandhan et al, 2010;Siéssere et al, 2009;Oktem et al, 2008;Levine et al, 2007). In many cases there is a single nerve which runs a few millimeters below the roots of teeth, nearly equal number of the nerve lies much lower in the mandible to continue near the lower border of the bone, or sometimes it is plexiform.…”

Morphometric study on mandibular foramen and incidence of accessory mandibular foramen in mandibles of south Indian population and its clinical implications in inferior alveolar nerve block

“…Ennes and Medeiros [13] and Prado et al [15] have studied the location of mandibular foramen in Brazilian population. Samanta and Kharb [11] and Raghavendra and Benjamin [16] have tried to localize the mandibular foramen in Indian mandibles.…”

The mandible and its foramen: anatomy, anthropology, embryology and resulting clinical implications

“…Prado et al [47] in 2010 marked the high variability of the mandibular foramen prevalence in the Brasilian population. They did not find any statistical side--related differences in the location of the mandibular foramen, regardless of the state of teeth.…”

“…These differences were both analysed on the panoramic images, as well as on the bone specimens [36,45,47].…”