The Prevalence of Mandibular Incisive Canal among a Sample of Yemeni Adults Obtained from Cone-beam Computed Tomography

Abstract

Aim of this study: It was to determine the prevalence of Mandibular Incisive Canal (MIC) among a sample of Yemeni adults obtained from Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study which is conducted in Yemen to evaluate CBCT images of 180 subjects, 360 sides were evaluated respectively. The samples were 74 males (41.1%) and 106 females (58.9%). Result: Of the 180 subjects and 360 sides, 167 right (92.8%) and 171 left (95%) Sides were found to have MIC. Among these subjects, 166 (96.5%) had MIC bilaterally and 6 (3.5%) were unilaterally. According to gender, females were (98.1%) and males (91.9%), while among age groups ≤ 40 years (94.3%) and > 40 years (97.3%) were found to have MIC. The mean height of MIC was 1.77 ±.45mm and the mean width was 1.66 ±.44 mm. The mean length of MIC was 12.74 ±4.4 mm. The mean distance from MIC to the alveolar process was 16.77 ±4.06 mm and to the inferior border of the mandible was 8.61 ±1.9 mm. The mean distance from MIC to the labial bony surface was 3.12 ±1.09 mm and to the lingual bony surface was 4.35 ±1.5 mm. All the mean values of the linear measurements were slightly higher in males than that of females. There were statistically significant differences in D3, D5 & D6 between genders and in D3, D4 & D5 between ages (P < 0.05). But there was no statistically difference between sides. Conclusion: The MIC is present with a significant percentage of 95.6 % of Yemeni adults, which emphasizes the need to raise the awareness of MIC position and configuration among general practitioners and maxillofacial surgeons.