Inferior alveolar nerve canal position among South Indians: A cone beam computed tomographic pilot study

To document a clinically relevant position of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) in complete dentate south Indian patients in the age group of 20-29 years using cone beam computerized tomograms.

The investigators used a cross-sectional study design and a study sample of subjects who had a radiographically identifiable IAN canal with complete set of 28 permanent teeth excluding 3(rd) molars. Predictor variables were age, tooth position, and side. Outcome variables were the linear distances between the buccal and lingual aspect of the IAN canal, buccal and lingual cortical thickness, IAN canal diameter, and the superior aspect of the IAN canal from the periapex of first and second mandibular molar. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test were performed. P value of ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant.

The study sample was composed of 10 male and 10 female patients with a mean age of 24.2 ± 3.00 years. On average, the lingual cortical thickness was 1.68 mm at 1(st) molar and 1.44 at 2(nd) molar level. Gender and side influenced the outcome with varying statistical significance.

The range of linear dimension of mandibular canal, cortical bone thickness, and distance between tooth apex and IAN canal have been presented for the South Indian population in the age group of 20-29 years. The implications of the findings will influence on the course of surgery. Further large-scale studies are needed to validate the findings of this study.