[The clinical importance of the mandibular canal course variations]

The authors review the literature relating to anatomical variations of mandibular canals. They compare the results of their examinations with the literature data. The proportion of duplicated mandibular canal observed during macroscopic examinations of mandibles proved to be substantially higher than that revealed by X-ray pictures. The knowledge of the course of the mandibular canal and its anatomical variations is of great importance in certain oral surgical interventions, such as preprosthetic operations and the insertion of enosseal implants, and during the planning of removable dentures prepared in cases involving extensively atrophied mandibles. The authors review the possible consequences of the injury of accessory mandibular canal.