Incidence and distribution of dehiscences and fenestrations on human skulls

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and distribution of dehiscences and fenestrations of the alveolar plate. The sample used in the study consisted of 163 adult jaw bones (78 maxillae and 85 mandibles) of a recent population from the north-western Croatia. The skulls are part of the skull collection of The Anatomy Institute, Zagreb, Croatia. The number and location of dehiscences and fenestrations for each tooth area above the total number of 2038 teeth were registrated. The total number of 696 (26.67%) dehiscences and 190 (9.32%) fenestrations was measured. Among the maxillary teeth, canines exhibited greatest and most frequent dehiscences and fenestrations. In the mandible, canines were most commonly associated with both defects, too. It was concluded that the canines were most frequently associated with either of the osseous defects.