• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2010

Purpose: The mental foramen (MF) is an important anatomical structure during local anesthesia and surgical procedures in terms of achieving effective mental nerve blocks and avoiding injuries to the neurovascular bundles. Thus, understanding the anatomic features of the mandibular canal and accessory mental foramen in Korean could contribute to the surgical anatomic assessment. This study was to elucidate frequency, position and course of AMF (accessory mental foramen) in Korean using 3D cone beam computed tomography. Materials and Methods: The CBCT (Conbeam computed tomography) DICOM data (Alphard, Asahi, Japan) from 540 patients in korean were analyzed. We investigated images of 3D CBCT using Ondemand (CyberMed, Korea) software program on the incidence and anatomical characteristics of accessory foramen. Results: The accessory mental foramina were found in 17 patients. Accessory mental foramina exist predominantly in the apical area of the second premolar and posteroinferior area of the mental foramen. The accessory branches of the mandibular canal showed common characteristics in the course of gently sloping posterosuperior direction in the buccal surface area. The size of most AMF was obviously smaller than that of MF. Conclusion: We could identify frequency, position and course of AMF (accessory mental foramen) by the anatomical study of the accessory mental foramen using 3D cone beam CT in Korean.