A REVIEW ON VARIATIONS IN LINGUAL FORAMINA OF THE MANDIBLE MIDLINE

Abstract

The sublingual, submental arteries or their anastomosis perforate the lingual cortical plate through the lingual foramen. Both the arteries are branch of facial and lingual arteries respectively which either arises independently from the external carotid artery or arises from a common lingual facial trunk. The anterior mandibular midline at which the lingual foramen is frequently present is subjected to various procedure like dental implants, genioplasty, tori removal, block graft harvesting, screwing with or without plating following trauma or osteotomy. There is a wide range of anatomical variations of lingual foramen among individuals. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been shown to be superior to panoramic radiographs in displaying mandibular lingual foramen and its variations. Numerous studies have been carried out to examine the frequency, diameter, and other anatomical features of the lingual foramen and its canals. There is a paucity of the data which compares the different group of the population based on the position and the occurrence of the lingual canal and very few studies compared the gender and population. The main purpose of the review is to examine the anatomical variations of the lingual foramen.