Morphometric study of the mental foramen correlating with sex / Estudo morfométrico do forame mentual correlacionando com o sexo

• Autor(a) principal: Aragão, José Aderval
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Aragão, Felipe Matheus Sant’Anna, Aragão, Iapunira Catarina Sant’Anna, Aragão, Yasmin Machado Cunha Oliveira, Almeida, João Victor Rocha de, Kuhn, Caio Siqueira, Santos, Ianique Rocha dos, Reis, Francisco Prado
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Health Review
• Texto Completo: https://ojs.brazilianjournals.com.br/ojs/index.php/BJHR/article/view/48744
• topic: mental foramen; morphometry; anatomy; sex.

Introduction: The mental foramen (MF) is located in the anterolateral region of the mandible body and through it passes the mental nerve and vessels. Its precise location is important in dental and anesthetic surgical procedures to avoid damage to the neurovascular structures that pass through it. However, due to the presence of variations in the incidence, shape, position and multiplicity of this foramen, controversies arise among authors regarding its exact location. Our study aimed to study the morphometric variations of the mental foramen correlating with sex. Materials and methods: A total of 252 human dry mandibles present in the Laboratory of Anatomy of the Department of Morphology of the Federal University of Sergipe were analyzed. The distance from the MF to the mental protuberance (MF-MP), the vertical distance from the MF to the inferior margin of the mandible (MF-IMM), the distance from the MF to the margin of the inferior alveolar process (MF-IAP), the width and the height of the MF and the multiplicity of the MF, as well as its position in relation to the lower molars and premolars. Results: The height of the MF showed no significant difference between genders on the right side (p=0.137), the same occurring on the left side (p=0.030). The width was similar in males and females on the right (p=0.241) and left (p=0.269).  The most common position found for MF was in line with the second premolar, with no significant difference being found on the right (p=0.265) and left (p=0.435) sides. Sixty (11.9%) accessory mental foramens (AMF) were verified and there was no association between the occurrence of AMF and gender on the right (p=0.786) and left (p=0.748) sides. Male mandibles showed higher values of MF-IMM and MF-IAP than females on both sides. The MF-MP values were similar between the two sexes on the right and left sides. Conclusion: It is concluded that there was no correlation between the morphometric variables of MF and gender.