Study of the prevalence of lingual foramina at the anterior region of the mandible – An evaluation using cone-bean computerized tomography

Background

At the anterior region of the mandible we can find the foramina located in the lingual cortical lateral to the mental spine and those located in the median line. There are an average of 1 to 5 foramina, where the branches of the sublingual artery are observed, and special attention is given to these lingual foramina (FL) channels at the moment of implant surgery at this region, avoiding immediate post-surgery vascular accidents

Aim/Hypothesis

The aim of the present study was to investigate and evaluate the prevalence, presence, number, position, length, diameter and distribution of FL and its corresponding vascular channels in the anterior region of the mandible.

Material and Methods

The sample consisted of 303 CBCT dated from January to October 2015 and analyzed by a single examiner in the year 2018. The anterior area of the mandible was evaluated, measuring the presence, number, position, distances, length, diameter and distribution of the lingual foramina. The tomograph used to obtain the images was I-CAT® Next Generation (Imaging Sciences International, Hatfield, PA, USA). The image acquisition protocol used was a 13 cm FOV, 120 Kvp and 12 mAs, time of acquisition of the images of 40 seconds with isotropic voxel and primary axial reconstructions of 0.25 mm.

Results

The age of the patients whose CT scans were examined ranged from 13 to 83 years, with an average of 52.0 ± 14.5 years. Among men, age ranged from 13 to 83 years, mean age was 51.1 ± 16.2 years. Among women, the age ranged from 14 to 83 years, the mean being 52.5 ± 13.5 years. The prevalence rate found in this study was 99.3% (301). From the 103 tomographies belonging to men, in 102 (99.0%), foramina were observed. In the 200 tomographies obtained from women, in 199 (99.5%) the presence of foramina was observed.

Conclusion and Clinical Implications

The data found in this study are particularly interesting to help clinicians to safely perform surgical procedures in the anterior region of the mandible. CBCT is an important mean of preoperative planning, helping to identify anatomical structures and their characteristics in the anterior region of the mandible.