Evaluation of Mental Foramen in U. P. Population- A CBCT Study

Abstract

Introduction: Mental foramen is variable in location & in type of emergence affecting the sufficiency of local anesthesia and safety during surgical procedure. Aims and objective:To evaluate the location, type of emergence and accessory mental foramina by means of Cone Beam CT scan. Material and method:A cross-sectional study of 150 CBCT images were retrieved from archive of Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, KGMU, Lucknow and evaluated for location, emergence and presence of accessory foramina in the body of mandible.Results and discussion: Most often mental foramen is antero-laterally placed to second premolar. In our study, 49.4% right and 50.6 % left mental foramen are located at apex of second premolar. Anterior and straight emergence is common in right and left side respectively (72% and 81%). Conclusion:The position of mental foramen should not be confirmed until a good quality CBCT scan is evaluated. Keywords: