A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Medicine (Emergency Medicine)
Johannesburg, 2013 / Background: Ultrasound can accurately locate the mental foramen and may
facilitate local anaesthesia to the mental nerve under direct visualization.
Methods: 100 subjects were included. An ultrasound transducer was used to
locate the mental foramina. Distances to various landmarks were measured and
compared.
Results: All mental foramina were visualised. Overall the most frequent position
of the mental foramen in relation to vertical hard tissue landmarks was in line with
the long axis of the 2nd premolar tooth on the right and between 1st and 2nd
premolar teeth on the left. There were no statistically significant differences
between race groups, gender and age categories. The mean hard tissue
distances from the mental foramen on the right and left sides respectively were
as follows: a) 22.8 mm (SD 2.1 mm) and 22.8 mm (SD 2.0 mm) to the cusp of the
related tooth. b) 13.2 mm (SD 1.6 mm) and 13.2 mm (SD 1.6 mm) to the inferior
border of the mandible. The mean soft tissue distances from the mental foramen
on the right and left sides respectively were as follows: a) 3.4 mm (SD 1.7 mm)
and 3.4 mm (SD 1.5 mm) lateral to a vertical line passing through the chelion. b)
20.1 mm (SD 2.6 mm) and 20.1 mm (SD 2.6 mm) distal to a horizontal line
bisecting the chelions. c) 15.1 mm (SD 3.4 mm) and 15.0 mm (SD 2.4 mm) to the
inferior border of the mandible.
Conclusion: Ultrasound is an effective modality to locate the mental foramen.
There is insignificant variation in the position of the mental foramen in relation to
v
the mandibular premolar teeth between races. Statistically significant differences,
for the distance of the mental foramen to various landmarks, were minimal and
are not regarded clinically significant.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/13716 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Laher, Abdullah |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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