Clinical implications of variations in the position of mandibular foramen in North Indian mandibles

Abstract

IntroductionThe mandibular foramen is a prominent feature on the medial surface of the ramus of the mandible which is located just above its center. The dental surgeon who is going to perform a surgery in oral cavity, tooth extraction should be aware of accessory mandibular foramina for planning to give anesthesia at an appropriate anatomical site as the branches of facial, mylohyoid, buccal and transverse cervical cutaneous nerves are known to pass through these foramina. MethodsThe present current study was carried out on 50 human dry North Indian mandibles in which 45 were dentulous and 5 edentulous. The measurements were obtained with sliding caliper as per standard anthropological conventions. ResultsWe observed that the mandibular foramen was positioned at a mean distance of 19mm with SD 2.34 from coronoid notch of the anterior border of the ramus. It was found in this study that the location of mandibular foramen is not at the center of mandibular ramus in the horizontal plane, it is situated at a distance of 2.75mm posterior to the midpoint of antero posterior width of ramus of mandible. DiscussionKnowledge of the position of mandibular foramen is very importance for many procedures in dentistry and useful for the maxillofacial surgeons, radiologists and oncologists in preventing neurovascular complications and misinterpretations.