Orthopantomogram study of mental foramen in Muradnagar-Ghaziabad Population

Introduction: Mental foramen is a minute circular/oval shaped opening present bilaterally in the anterior surface of the body of the mandible. The mental foramen marks the termination of mandibular canal in the mandible, through which the inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle passes. Evaluation of the position of the mental foramen in various surgical procedures like fracture of body of mandible, nerve lateralization procedure, dental implant, orthognathic surgery etc. helps in preventing damage to neurovascular bundle thus preventing paresthesia of lower lip, gums and lower anterior teeth. The aim of this study was to determine the position of the mental foramen in the Muradnagar-Ghaziabad population using digital panoramic radiographs in order to keep a record of the variations of the morphologic features of the mental foramen in anethnic population of Muradnagar. Materials and Method: A total of 1000 digital orthopantomogram of 635 male and 365 female patients within the age group of 15 to 55years were collected and the position of mental foramen along the vertical and horizontal axis was analyzed. Results: The most common position of mental foramen was found to be in line with second premolar tooth (51%), in the horizontal axis and along the vertical axis, it was inferior to the apex of second premolar (68.1%). Conclusion: This Study supports the earlier literature regarding the position of mental foramen among north Indian population and suggests that variations are present between populations of different geographical areas.