Visibility of mandibular anatomical landmarks in panoramic radiography: A retrospective study

Abstract

Aims: To determine the frequency, visibility and gender variations of mental foramen (foramen mentale), incisive canal, anterior loop of mental nerve, and mandibular canal (canal mandibulaire) in different age groups. Materials and Methods: The study was done in 179 orthopantomograms (OPG) which were taken using Digital Orthophos XG machine. The anatomical landmarks such as mandibular canal, mental foramen, anterior loop of mental nerve, and incisive canal were analyzed in the radiographs and scores were recorded. Results: According to a sample size of 179, the mandibular canal was visible in 98%. In 16% of the cases, with 14% poor perceptibility anterior looping of the mental nerve was visible. The mental foramen showed good visibility in 51%. In 23% of the cases, the incisive canal was observed. Chi-square test was done which showed the statistical difference with a P < 0.05 existed between appearance of mandibular canal and age and difference in P values in males and females in their visibility based on the sample size. Conclusion: Panoramic radiographs provided sufficient information for mental foramen and mandibular canal. But for better visualization, detection of structures in between for aminal region and for performing surgery for implant placement in this region it may require to be replaced with three-dimensional imaging like cone-beam computed tomography.

The evaluation of visibility of mandibular anatomic landmarks using panoramic radiography

“…In Nagaraj et al's study (8), the visibility of the mandibular canal, mental foramen, and incisive canal was present in 98%, 99%, and 23%, respectively. These results were higher than our results; the reason for this may be that our sample size was higher.…”

“…Radiographs with inadequate quality, with artifacts to prevent the appearance of the mandible, and with fractures or pathologies in the mandible were excluded from the study. Anatomical structures in the mandible (mandibular canal, mandibular foramen, mental foramen, and incisive canal) were classified according to a visibility scale reported by Singh et al (7) and Nagaraj et al (8), which consists of four components: good visibility (above average), moderate visibility (average), poor visibility (below average), and invisibility. Data were recorded and analyzed statistically, and the interobserver agreement was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).…”

Pre‐eruptive intracoronal radiolucencies in permanent dentition of children in Tamil Nadu—A cross‐sectional study

“…Superimposition of anatomical structures and the geometric distortion can reduce the visibility of anteriors. 24 PEIR defects may go undetected in this region because they do not fall in the focal trough region of the panoramic radiograph. Ectopic positioning of the offending tooth or tooth adjacent to it (9.3%) and caries in the preceding primary tooth (9.9%) were the common coexisting factors with PEIR defects.…”

“…In this study, no PEIR defects were detected in the mandibular incisors and maxillary incisors showed a very low prevalence of PEIR defects (3.9%). Superimposition of anatomical structures and the geometric distortion can reduce the visibility of anteriors 24 . PEIR defects may go undetected in this region because they do not fall in the focal trough region of the panoramic radiograph.…”

The diagnostic performance of impacted third molars in the mandible: A review of deep learning on panoramic radiographs

“…Common practice in dentistry is to utilize panoramic radiography imaging of impacted mandibular third molars, allowing for comprehensive view of the dental arch and their surrounding structures before determining odontectomy. Using panoramic radiograph, one can identify the alignment of ITM in the mandible with nearby anatomical structures ( Nagaraj et al, 2016 ).…”