Assessment of position, shape and radiographic appearance of the mental foramen in terms of gender: A radiographic study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University

Abstract

Aim: To assess the position, shape and radiographic appearance of the mental foramen in terms of gender using digital panoramic radiography. Materials and methods: 100 digital panoramic images of dentulous Egyptian patients of known sex (50 males and 50 females) and of age older than 18 years old were included in the present study. The mental foramen was assessed on digital panoramic images regarding the medio-lateral and superio-inferior positions, the shape and the radiographic appearance. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis in correlation with gender. Results: The most common medio-lateral position in males was at level of the second premolar (46%) while in females was between the first and second premolars (40%). Superioinferiorly, the most common position in males (86%) and females (90%) was below the level of the apices of the lower premolars. Regarding the shape of the mental foramen, the oval shape was the most common in both males (44%) and females (40%) and for the radiographic appearance, both the separated and diffuse types were the most common and of equal distribution in case of males (38%) while the continuous type was the most common in females (40%). The distributions of males and females showed statistically significant difference only regarding the medio-lateral position between the lower second premolar and the first molar. Conclusion: Statistically, there was significant difference between males and females only regarding the medio-lateral position between the lower second premolar and the first molar.

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