Cone beam computed tomography-based evaluation of the relationship between the inferior alveolar canal and the cortical plates and the mandibular molar roots in the Saudi subpopulation

Abstract

Aim: To assess the distance between the inferior alveolar canal and the roots of the mandibular second molar and the mandibula and cortex in a Saudi Arabian subpopulation through existing CBCT images. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was performed based on 120 patients CBCT images in five age groups.The distances (D1 and D2) between the buccal cortex (BC), lingual cortex (LC), and mandibular molars and the distances (D3) between the root apices and inferior alveolar nerve canal (IANC) were measured for each dental root on the right and left of the mandible with the help of Vision iCAT software. A radiology specialist with a gap of 15 days twice carried out the measurements. Statistical analysis was carried out with the help of SPSS 24. to analyse variability Chi-square analysis was done, and the p value was fixed at > 0.05. To check inter-person variability, Cohen’s variability was fixed at 0.8. Results: The distance between the outer surface of the buccal cortical plate and the buccal root surface ranged between 3.8 and 5.7 mm, whereas the distance between the root apices of the mandibular molars and the IANC ranged between 4.8 and 3.5 mm. The distance from the outer surface of the lingual cortical plate to the lingual root surface varied between 1.2 and 2.8 mm. The mean distance between the root apices and IANC increased with age, more so in males than females. Conclusions: Even though this study was conducted on a small sample size, it will help the dental practitioners in planning endodontic procedures, surgical extractions, and implant placements, and it should be repeated with a higher number of images. Keywords: Radiology; Cone-beam computed tomography; Inferior alveolar nerve; Molars; Mandible; Saudi Arabia