Assessment of morphological and anatomical characteristics of mental foramen using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) according to age and gender

Abstract

Background: Accurate recognition of morphological characteristics of mental foramen reduces possibility of different adverse effects. The objectives of this study are to investigate the morphological characteristics of the mental foramen and also compare these characteristics between two different genders and in both sides of the mandible in different age ranges using CBCT.

Materials and Methods: In this study 258 mandible CBCT scans were used to describe the morphological and anatomical characteristics of mental foramen according to gender and age. To analyze the data, SPSS software, and Chi-square test, and independent t-test were used. To analyze the data, SPSS software, and Chi-square test, and independent t-test were used. Results: The results of the present study showed that there is no significant difference in the frequency of foramen shapes in the right and the left sides. There is also no significant difference in the frequency of foramen shapes, the horizontal position of the mental foramen, and the vertical position of the mental foramen among the males and females on the right side. Conclusion: In this study, no significant difference was observed in the frequency of the vertical position of the mental foramen based on the direction (right and left), age ranges, and gender.