Study of the mandibular incisive canal anatomy using cone beam computed tomography

The aim of this study was to identify the range of individual variability in dimensions and topography of the mandibular incisive canal (MIC) in vivo.

One hundred cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of patients from dental outpatient hospitals of Minsk, Belarus were performed on Galileos GAX5 using standard exposure and patient positioning protocol. Reformatted panoramic and sagittal CBCT images were analyzed.

The MIC was visualized in 92% of CBCT images. It was detected in the first premolar root region in 93% of cases, and only in 21% of cases it reached the central incisors root area. The MIC started prior to the mental foramen opening with formation of the anterior mental loop in 48% of cases. The MIC started at the level of the mental foramen or close to it in 52% of cases. The degree of MIC visibility and its internal vertical diameter decreases when it comes closer to the midline of the mandible. The distance from the roots of teeth to the upper wall of MIC increases in the mesial direction, while the position of MIC in relation to the base of the mandible remains virtually unchanged.

The MIC can appear in a different length and can reach the level of the root of the central mandibular incisor. Individual topography of MIC should be determined during the preoperative radiological examination and surgical procedures in the anterior region of the mandible.