Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Oral (Radio and Diagnosis)

Aim: With the development of surgical procedures, as the mandibular anterior dental implants and chin surgeries, there has been an increase in complications associated with anatomical elements in this anterior area. One of the most dangerous complications is related to bleeding caused by injured vessels associated with the lingual foramen and canal, which can cause a compression of the airway.Methodology: Eighty two CBCT scans for Egyptian individuals were collected from the data base available at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University. Scans were selected according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, they were interpreted by two oral radiologists and analyzed in the three planes axial, coronal and sagittal. The midline was drawn on the axial scan by a line passing through the convexity of the genial tubercle to the mental ridge. The procedure was then standardized by adjusting the slice thickness and the spacing between all cuts at 0.4mm. After determining the midline on the axial plane, from the sagittal plane five consecutive cuts were taken on each side of the midline, these cuts were used for the assessment of; the number and location of lingual canals present, the diameter of both lingual and buccal terminal ends of each lingual canal and the distance between the alveolar crest and both lingual and buccal terminal ends of each lingual canal detected. Results: All patients in our study had at least one median lingual foramen and canal. Supra-spinous canals were found to be more frequent than infra-spinous canals. Regarding the average diameter of lingual canals it was (0.4-0.94 mm). The distance between the buccal terminal end of the canal and the alveolar crest ranged between (16.31-23.03 mm) for supra-spinous canals and (21.91-28.51 mm) for infra-spinous canals.The distance between the lingual terminal end of the canal and the alveolar crest ranged between (13.43-19.05 mm) for supra-spinous canals and (22.85-30.45 mm) for infra-spinous canals

Issued also as CD