title: Ultrasonographic pilot study of mental foramen size, with and without postoperative neurosensory dysfunction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the ability of a portable ultrasound system to visualize the mental foramen in patients with unilateral neurosensory dysfunction after third molar removal.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 20 patients, an ultrasound scanner (13 MHz linear-array transducer) was used to measure the mental foramen. The anteroposterior diameter was calculated on both sides, and differences between injured and contralateral sides were tested. Intrarater and interrater reliability were calculated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found a relatively high reliability on interindividual observations (ICC ≥0.89) and intraindividual observations (ICC ≥0.76). The average diameter on the injured sides was significantly smaller than the control sides. Subjective sensibility was not significantly correlated to the dimension of the mental foramen.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate a reduced size of the mental foramen, as determined by ultrasonography, in patients with permanent neurosensory dysfunction. These findings have to be verified in a larger number of patients.
authors.affiliation: Professor, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: amoystad@odont.uio.no.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Møystad
authors.affiliation: Professor and Chairman, Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bjørnland
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Friedland
authors.affiliation: Professor and Dean, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: R Bruce
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Donoff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008964:Molar, Third / Q000601:surgery*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014095:Tooth, Impacted; D061221:Trigeminal Nerve Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography