VARIATION IN THE SHAPE OF CORONOID PROCESS IN DRY MANDIBLE OF MAHARASHTRA POPULATION

Background: Knowledge about the morphological shapes of the coronoid process is useful for the maxillofacial surgeon. The Coronoid process can be easily harvested as a donor bone. It is also helpful in determining buccal vestibule during denture fabrication. Aim of the study: To find out the variation in shape of coronoid process and the intercoronoid distance in dry mandible of Maharashtra region. Material and Methods: One hundred and fifty seven (male 84 and female 73) dry mandible of Maharashtra region were studied for variations of shape in coronoid process of both sides and the intercoronoid distance . Results: Triangular shape coronoid process was found in 204 (64.97%), Hook shape in 66 (21.02%) sides. and rounded in 44 (14.01%) sides of mandible. Mean intercoronoid distance among males was found to be 9.2000 and 9.100 in females. Conclusions: It was found that most common shape of coronoid process found in our study was triangular. Mandible with hook shape coronoid process was almost equal in male and female mandible while triangular shape was slightly more in the male .