A Radiographic Study of the Anterior Loop and Mental Foramen in a Selected North Indian Population
Article Sidebar
Views | PDF/EPUB Downloads:
62
/ 7
/ 6
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: The mental foramen is an important anatomical landmark and the possibility of the presence of the anterior loop mesial
to the foramina is imperative to the dentist while performing various surgical procedures.
Objective: To retrospectively visualize the anterior loop of the mental nerve in the panoramic radiographs.
Methodology: Five hundred digital panoramic radiographs of patients who reported to Subharti Dental College, Meerut, taken between 2011 and 2013, were obtained from the Easy Dent Software.
Results: At least one anterior loop was visualized in 73 (19%) radiographs out of 384 radiographs. The horizontal position of the mental foramen in relation to the lower teeth was most commonly below the apex of second premolar teeth (P4) on right side in 24.73% of radiographs while on left side was present in 29.4%. The most common radiographic appearance to be identified was the separated type (C2) which was found to be 14.06% and 17.70% on right and left side respectively.
Conclusion: The anatomical landmark of the mental foramen is of paramount importance. The clinicians need to pin-point its location before the placement of implants in the foraminal region. Panoramic radiographs can be resourceful with its explicit depiction and confirmation of the presence of the anterior loop of the mental nerve. Injury to the mental nerve during implant placement can be avoided by identifying this anatomical landmark using advanced imaging modality and the surgical verification.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
How to Cite
References
1. Phillips JL, Weller RN, Kulid JC. The mental foramen: Part II. Radiographic position in relation to the mandibular second premolar. J Endod 1992;18:271‑4.
2. Yosue T, Brooks SL. The appearance of mental foramina on panoramic radiographs. I. Evaluation of patients. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1989;68:360‑4.
3. Kuzmanovic DV, Payne AG, Kieser JA, Dias GJ. Anterior loop of the mental nerve: A morphological and radiographic study. Clin Oral Implants Res 2003;14:464‑71.
4. Tebo HG, Telford IR. An analysis of the variations in position of the mental foramen. Anat Rec 1950;107:61‑6.
5. Kim IS, Kim SG, Kim YK, Kim JD. Position of the mental foramen in a Korean population: A clinical and radiographic study. Implant Dent 2006; 15:404‑11.
6. Fishel D, Buchner A, Hershkowith A, Kaffe I. Roentgenologic study of the mental foramen. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1976;41:682‑6.
7. Wang TM, Shih C, Liu JC, Kuo KJ. A clinical and anatomical study of the location of the mental foramen in adult Chinese mandibles. Acta Anat (Basel) 1986;126:29‑33.
8. Kekere‑Ekun TA. Antero‑posterior location of the mental foramen in Nigerians. Afr Dent J 1989;3:2‑8.
9. Neo J. Position of the mental foramen in Singaporean Malays and Indians. Anesth Prog 1989;36:276‑8.
10. Santini A, Land M. A comparison of the position of the mental foramen in Chinese and British mandibles. Acta Anat (Basel) 1990; 137:208‑12.
11. Shankland WE 2nd. The position of the mental foramen in Asian Indians. J Oral Implantol 1994;20:118‑23.
12. Ngeow WC, Yuzawati Y. The location of the mental foramen in a selected Malay population. J Oral Sci 2003;45:171‑5.
13. Neiva RF, Gapski R, Wang HL. Morphometric analysis of implant‑related anatomy in Caucasian skulls. J Periodontol 2004;75:1061‑7.
14. Apinhasmit W, Methathrathip D, Chompoopong S, Sangvichien S. Mental foramen in Thais: An anatomical variation related to gender and side. Surg Radiol Anat 2006;28:529‑33.
15. Bergman RA, Afifi AK, Miyauchi R. Mental foramen. In: Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus V: Skeletal Systems. Available from: http://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/Skeletal‑system/Images/127.shtml. [Last accessed on 2006 Jun 21].
16. Singh R, Srivastav AK. Evaluation of position, shape, size and incidence of mental foramen and accessory mental foramen in Indian adult human skulls. Anatomy 2011;5:23‑9.
17. Jacobs R, Mraiwa N, Van Steenberghe D, Sanderink G, Quirynen M. Appearance of the mandibular incisive canal on panoramic radiographs. Surg Radiol Anat 2004;26:329‑33.
18. Yosue T, Brooks SL. The appearance of mental foramina on panoramic and periapical radiographs. II. Experimental evaluation. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 1989;68:488‑92.
19. Misch CE, Crawford EA. Predictable mandibular nerve location – A clinical zone of safety. Int J Oral Implantol 1990;7:37‑40.
20. Arzouman MJ, Otis L, Kipnis V, Levine D. Observations of the anterior loop of the inferior alveolar canal. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 1993;8:295‑300.
21. Solar P, Ulm C, Frey G, Matejka M. A classification of the intraosseous paths of the mental nerve. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 1994; 9:339‑44.
22. Misch CE, editor. Root form surgery in the edentulous mandible: Stage I implant insertion. In: Implant Dentistry. 2nd ed. St. Louis: The CV Mosby Company; 1999. p. 347‑70.
23. Mardinger O, Chaushu G, Arensburg B, Taicher S, Kaffe I. Anterior loop of the mental canal: An anatomical‑radiologic study. Implant Dent 2000;9:120‑5.
24. Bavitz JB, Harn SD, Hansen CA, Lang M. An anatomical study of mental neurovascular bundle‑implant relationships. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 1993;8:563‑7.
25. Igbigbi PS, Lebona S. The position and dimensions of the mental foramen in adult Malawian mandibles. West Afr J Med 2005;24:184‑9.
26. Ngeow WC, Dionysius DD, Ishak H, Nambiar P. A radiographic study on the visualization of the anterior loop in dentate subjects of different age groups. J Oral Sci 2009;51:231‑7.