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Five mental foramina in the same mandible: CBCT findings of an unusual anatomical variant

  • Anatomic Variations
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Abstract

The mental foramen is an important anatomic landmark located on the buccal aspect of the mandible, typically near the apex of the second premolar. Mental foramina exhibit many anatomical variations, including differences in size, shape, position, and number. The most frequent type of variation in number is the presence of double mental foramen, which has a reported incidence ranging from 1.4 to 12.5%. The incidence of triple mental foramen ranges from 0.7 to 1.2%. The frequency of accessory mental foramina varies among ethnic groups, with a low incidence in white Caucasian populations. At present, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is the diagnostic tool of choice for examining the maxillofacial region, and the high spatial resolution of CBCT allows accurate three-dimensional analysis of mental foramen variations. The present report describes an unusual case of five mental foramina in a 24-year-old white European male diagnosed by CBCT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili, 1, 25123, Brescia, Italy

    Andrea Borghesi, Stefania Pezzotti, Giorgio Nocivelli & Roberto Maroldi

Authors
  1. Andrea Borghesi
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  2. Stefania Pezzotti
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  3. Giorgio Nocivelli
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  4. Roberto Maroldi
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Contributions

AB: Project development, data analysis, manuscript writing and editing. SP: Data collection, literature research and manuscript editing. GN: Literature research and manuscript editing. RM: Manuscript editing.

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Correspondence to Andrea Borghesi.

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The authors declare no financial or other conflict of interest.

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Borghesi, A., Pezzotti, S., Nocivelli, G. et al. Five mental foramina in the same mandible: CBCT findings of an unusual anatomical variant. Surg Radiol Anat 40, 635–640 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-1969-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-1969-5

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