International Journal of Dental Sciences

Authors
Altaf Hussain Chalkoo, Tauseefa Jan, Shazia Maqbool, Bashir Ahmad Wani

Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the most common location of the mental foramen (MF), its gender differences and bilateral symmetry in a selected Kashmiri population and to compare the results with those reported for other populations. Materials and Methods: 160 digital panoramic radiographs (DPR) of randomly selected Kashmiri population were retrospectively studied. Results: There were 160 (320 sides) patients with panaromic radiographs with age range of 18 -72 years and a mean age of 34.5±17.46 in males and 31.6±12.66 in females. The most common position of mental foramen was position IV (foramen along the longitudinal axis of second premolar) in 45% cases followed by position III (foramen lying on the longitudinal axis passing between first premolar and second premolar ) in 29% cases. The least common location of mental foramen is position VI (foramen lying on longitudinal axis of first molar) in 1.8% cases. Conclusions: Mental foramen were usually symmetrically located either mesial to or in line with second premolar but in some (small percentage) cases it can be found asymmetrical and at other positions. Therefore, our reasoning for the difference in the positioning and symmetrical location of the MF in different populations might be influenced mainly by the genetics, environmental and local factors influencing growth and development of the mandible.