Three-dimensional morphometric analysis of mandibular canal and foramina: a cone beam computed tomography study comparing Arabic and Kurdish ethnicities in Iraq

• Main Author: Taha, Omar Basheer
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: RA440-440.87 Study and teaching. Research; RK Dentistry
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/62836/

Precise evaluation of the morphology of mandibular canal (MC) and foramina and their variations is highly recommended before any surgical procedures involve the mandible to avoid neurological complications after surgery. The primary goal of this study is to examine how inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) moves through the MC and terminates at the mental foramen (MentF), as well as to determine its variations and sexual dimorphism among the Arabic and Kurdish communities in Iraq. The study done on 400 CBCT images, 200 Arabs and 200 Kurds, for each ethnic group 100 males and 100 females, to measure the morphology of mandibular foramen (MandF), MC, and MentF and their variations, and compare the measurements between the genders of each ethnic group and between the Arabs and Kurds populations, to test whether the measurements of the size and location of MandF and MentF can predict the type of genders, and if possible, to predict the position of the MandF depending on the measurements of the position of the MentF. The results have shown that there were significant differences in the measurements of the size and position of the MC and its foramina between the genders and between the two ethnic groups; the variations of MC and its foramina were found in both Arabs and Kurds populations; a binary regression test of the measurements of MandF and MentF can predict the type of gender; and finally, a simple linear regression test showed that the prediction of the position of MandF depending on the measurements of the position of MentF is possible. In the current study, more details about the size, shape, and location of the MC and its foramina and their variations in the Kurdish and Arabic people of Iraq were presented to the literature. The findings of this study will offer crucial morphometric data needed to carry out an IAN block successfully and avoid difficulties during mandibular surgery.