title: Study of position, shape, and size of mental foramen utilizing various parameters in dry adult human mandibles from north India.
abstract: Background. As the mental foramen (MF) is an important landmark to facilitate surgical, local anesthetic, and other invasive procedures, the present study was aimed to elucidate its morphological features and morphometric parameters with reference to surrounding landmarks. Material and Method. 105 dry adult human mandibles of unknown sex were observed for position, shape, and number of mental foramina. Their size was measured using a digital vernier caliper and statistically analyzed by mean and standard deviations (SD). Results. In most cases (74.3%), the MF was oval in shape and situated on the longitudinal axis of the 2nd premolar tooth (61% on right side and 59.1% on left side). The mean distance for the right and left sides was measured from various landmarks. Conclusion. Prior knowledge of mental foramen variations helps surgeons in planning surgery in that region to avoid nerve damage and also enable effective mental nerve block anesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, L.N. Medical College and J.K. Hospital, Sector-C, Sarvadhram, Kolar Road, Bhopal 460246, India.
authors.forename: Virendra
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Budhiraja
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, L.N. Medical College and J.K. Hospital, Sector-C, Sarvadhram, Kolar Road, Bhopal 460246, India.
authors.forename: Rakhi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rastogi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, L.L.R.M. Medical College, Meerut, India.
authors.forename: Rekha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lalwani
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Subharti Medical College, Meerut, India.
authors.forename: Prabhat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, L.N. Medical College, Bhopal, India.
authors.forename: Subhash Chandra
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bose