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. 2012 Jan;2(1):51-5.
doi: 10.4103/2231-0746.95319.

Inferior alveolar nerve canal position among South Indians: A cone beam computed tomographic pilot study

S M Balaji  1 , N R Krishnaswamy, S Manoj Kumar, Thavarajah Rooban
Affiliations

Inferior alveolar nerve canal position among South Indians: A cone beam computed tomographic pilot study

S M Balaji et al. Ann Maxillofac Surg. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose: To document a clinically relevant position of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) in complete dentate south Indian patients in the age group of 20-29 years using cone beam computerized tomograms.

Materials and methods: The investigators used a cross-sectional study design and a study sample of subjects who had a radiographically identifiable IAN canal with complete set of 28 permanent teeth excluding 3(rd) molars. Predictor variables were age, tooth position, and side. Outcome variables were the linear distances between the buccal and lingual aspect of the IAN canal, buccal and lingual cortical thickness, IAN canal diameter, and the superior aspect of the IAN canal from the periapex of first and second mandibular molar. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test were performed. P value of ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: The study sample was composed of 10 male and 10 female patients with a mean age of 24.2 ± 3.00 years. On average, the lingual cortical thickness was 1.68 mm at 1(st) molar and 1.44 at 2(nd) molar level. Gender and side influenced the outcome with varying statistical significance.

Conclusions: The range of linear dimension of mandibular canal, cortical bone thickness, and distance between tooth apex and IAN canal have been presented for the South Indian population in the age group of 20-29 years. The implications of the findings will influence on the course of surgery. Further large-scale studies are needed to validate the findings of this study.

Keywords: Cone beam computed tomography; inferior alveolar nerve canal; mandible.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram of various linear measurement parameters: L refers to the lingual side. Distance between the lingual inner and outer cortex (A), inner cortex to outer surface of the IAN canal along lingual side (B), inner cortex to outer IAN canal along the buccal side (C), distance between buccal inner and outer cortex (D), inner cortical width of the IAN canal (E), outer cortex to outer cortex width along the centre of the IAN canal (F), and the shortest distance between the periapex to the superior surface of IAN canal (G)
Figure 2
Figure 2
CBCT image showing the dimension and position of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Canal in 36 and 46. Upper row the left side mandibular molar and bottom row the second molar in the same region
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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