Epidemiological and Radiomorphometric Aspects of the Accessory Mental Foramen in Brazilian Individuals: An Analysis by Cone Beam Computed Tomography.

Background: The accessory mental foramen is characterized by small foramina in the surrounding area of the mental foramen with communication with the mandibular canal. The aim of this research was to evaluate epidemiological and radiomorphometric aspects of the accessory mental foramen (AMF) using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in Brazilian individuals.

Material and methods: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative, retrospective descriptive study with 250 CBCT scans of dentate individuals in the anterior mandibular region, aged between 18 and 69 years. Presence/absence, linear measurements (length, height, and width), anatomical distances (to the vestibular, lingual, alveolar bone cortices, base of the mandible, and to the apex of the adjacent tooth) were evaluated concerning the accessory mental foramen.

Results: Of the 250 scans, the mean age of the patients was 47.44±12.57 years, with 150 female and 100 male individuals. The total prevalence of AMF was 7.2% (n=18) of cases, with 5.2% (n=13) female individuals and 2% (n=5) male individuals. Bilateral presence of AMF was observed in one case (0.4%). Regarding laterality, AMF presence was observed in 10 cases (4.0%) on the right side and 8 (n=3.2%) on the left side. The mean distance from AMF to the mental foramen was 4.67 mm. The mean horizontal diameter was 1.06mm, and the mean vertical diameter was 0.95mm across the entire sample.

Conclusions: The prevalence of the AMF was 7.2% with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), showing a slight inclination towards female individuals. Key words:Accessory mental foramen, mental foramen, cone beam computed tomography, anatomical variation.