Assessment of the temporal crest canal using cone-beam computed tomography

The temporal crest canal (TCC) is a rare variant of the mandibular canal, and it is important to locate the presence and site of mandibular canals and their variants before operation. We have examined the anatomical features and prevalence of TCC with cone-beam computed tomography (CT) in south-east Anatolia. The cone-beam CT images of 1023 patients (2026 sides) referred to the Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology between 2015 and 2017 years were evaluated retrospectively. Sagittal, cross-sectional, and reformatted panoramic images were analysed to see if a TCC was present. The canals were grouped as Type 1 and Type 2 according to their configuration. Seven (0.7%) were found in 1023 patients. Two of them (0.2%) were in female, and five (0.5%) in male, patients. Four (0.4%) were increasingly narrow and noticeably curved (Type 1), and three (0.3%) were uniformly wide and slightly curved (Type 2). All TCC were unilateral: two on the right and five on the left. We conclude that knowledge of the presence of a TCC and its anatomical variants in the mandibular ramus is important to ensure a proper local anaesthetic nerve block for surgical operations. Cone-beam CT is an important diagnostic tool in dentistry, and clearly recognises a TCC.