Morphometric analysis of greater palatine canal via cone-beam computed tomography

Abstract

Background/Aim: The morphology of the greater palatine canal (GPC) should be determined preoperatively to prevent possible complications in surgical procedures required maxillary nerve block anesthesia and reduction of descending palatine artery bleeding. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the GPC morphology. Material and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, cone-beam computed tomography images obtained for various causes of 200 patients (females, 55%; males, 45%) age ranged between 18 and 86 (mean age ± standard deviation=47±13.6) were examined. The mean length, mean angles of the GPC and anatomic routes of the GPC were evaluated. Results: The mean length of the GPC was found to be 31.07 mm and 32.01 mm in sagittal and coronal sections, respectively. The mean angle of the GPC was measured as 156.16° and 169.23° in sagittal and coronal sections. The mean angle of the GPC with horizontal plane was measured as 113.76° in the sagittal sections and 92.94° in the coronal sections. The mean GPC length was longer in males than in females. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the most common pathway of the GPC was 'first inferior, and then anterior-inferior direction' in sagittal plane and 'first medial-inferior, then inferior direction' in coronal plane.