Morphological and morphometrical study of mental foramen in dry adult human mandible and its clinical relevance

Abstract

Background: Mental foramen is situated in the anterolateral aspect of the body of the mandible. It lies below either the interval between the premolar teeth or the second premolar tooth, midway between the upper and lower borders of the body of the mandible. It transmits mental nerves, arteries, and veins. The mental nerve is a branch of the inferior alveolar nerve which supplies sensation to the lower lip, labial mucosa, lower canines, and premolars. The most useful injection for anaesthetizing the mandibular teeth is the inferior alveolar nerve block. To anaesthetize the anterior teeth including canines and premolars it is better to inject the anesthetic solution adjacent to the mental foramen instead of giving inferior alveolar nerve block. Aim: To Study the Morphological and Morphometrical Study of Mental Foramen in Dry Adult Human Mandible and Its Clinical Relevance in dental practice. Materials and methods: A total of 100 numbers of dry adult mandibles of unknown sex with complete dentition and intact alveolar sockets collected from the Department of Anatomy, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, were used for this study. The shape, size, location, number of the mental foramen, direction of opening of mental foramen was measured on both sides of the mandible by using a vernier caliper. Results: The most frequent position of mental foramen was in line with the apex of the 2nd premolar (right side 86.1% and left side 84.75%). The second common position was between 1st and 2nd premolar (Right side 5.2% and Left side 5.85%). The shape of the mental foramen was oval in 63.3% and rounded in 36.7% respectively. The direction of opening of mental foramen in most of the mandible was posterosuperior. The mean distance from mental foramen to symphysis menti, lower border of the mandible, and posterior ramus of the mandible was 26.67mm, 11.76 mm, and 62.95mm respectively. The mean measurement of the angle of the mandible was 128°. Conclusion: Knowledge about the Morphometric measurement of mental foramen is important during various surgical dental procedures.