Objectives Increased applications of ridge augmentation in the lingual posterior mandible call for an urgent need to study its anatomy. Therefore, our first aim was to validate ultrasound in measuring the mandibular lingual structures in human cadavers. Secondarily, to test its feasibility in imaging the lingual nerve in live humans. Materials and methods Nine fresh un‐embalmed fully/partially edentulous cadaver heads were utilized for aim 1. Three areas in the lingual mandible were imaged (mandibular premolar, molar, and retromolar). Immediately after, biopsies were harvested from each site. The thickness of the mucosa, mylohyoid muscle, and lingual nerve diameter was measured via ultrasound and statistically compared to histology. Similarly, the lingual nerve in live humans was also imaged. Results None of the differences between the ultrasound and histology measurements reached statistical significance (p > .05). The mean mucosal thickness via ultrasound and histology was 1.45 ± 0.49 and 1.39 ± 0.50 mm, 5 mm lingual to the mylohyoid muscle attachment. At 10 mm beyond the attachment, the ultrasound and histologic values were 1.54 ± 0.48 and 1.37 ± 0.49, respectively. The mean muscle thickness measured via ultrasound and histology was 2.31 ± 0.56 and 2.25 ± 0.47 mm, at the 5 mm distance. At the 10 mm distance, the measurements were 2.46 ± 0.56 and 2.36 ± 0.5 mm, respectively. The mean ultrasonic lingual nerve diameter was 2.38 ± 0.44 mm, versus 2.43 ± 0.42 mm, with histology. The lingual nerve diameter on 19 live humans averaged to 2.01 ± 0.35 mm (1.4–3.1 mm). Conclusions Within its limitations, ultrasound accurately measured mandibular lingual soft tissue structures on cadavers, and the lingual nerve on live humans.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of two harvesting approaches on the donor site vascular injury. Methods A split‐mouth cadaver study was designed on 21 fresh donor heads. Every hemi‐palate was assigned to receive the trap‐door harvesting technique (TDT) or the epithelialized free gingival graft harvesting technique (FGGT). A soft tissue graft was harvested from each side for histology analyses. Betadine solution was used to inject the external carotid artery and a collagen sponge was positioned over the harvested area to compare the amount of “leakage.” Results The mean leakage observed was 16.56 ± 3.01 µL in the FGGT‐harvested sites, and 69.21 ± 7.08 µL for the TDT group, a ratio of 4.18 (P < 0.01). Regression analyses demonstrated a trend for more leakage at thinner palatal sites for the FGGT group (P = 0.09), and a statistically significant correlation for the TDT‐harvest sites (P = 0.02). Additionally, a shallow palatal vault height (PVH) was associated with a higher leakage in both harvesting groups (P = 0.02). The histomorphometric analyses revealed that grafts harvested with TDT exhibited a significantly higher mean number of medium (ø = 0.1 to 0.5 mm, P = 0.03), and large vessels (ø ≥ 0.5 mm, P = 0.02). Conclusions Within the limitations of the present research, the TDT resulted in a significantly higher leakage than the FGGT, which was also correlated with the histology analyses where a greater number of medium and large vessels were observed in the harvested grafts.