Lingual Foramina of the Mandible: Anatomic Variations in a Turkish Population

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Determination of the location, frequency, and number of a lingual foramen in the mandible in a Turkish population using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: From the CBCT images obtained from patients who applied to the Private Dentistomo Imaging Establishment for any reason between July 2020 and July 2021, 400 images that met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected. The medial lingual foramina (MLF), paramedian lingual foramina (PLF), and posterior lingual foramina (POLF) were analyzed using CS 3D Dental Imaging Software (NY Rochester, USA). Frequency, location, classification, distance to the alveolar crest, distance to the mandibula basis, and diameter values were analyzed. Results: This study examined 400 subjects, 227 (56.75%) males and 173 (43.25%) females. A total of 1253 lingual foramen (544 MLF, 338 PLF, 371 POLF) were detected in the CBCT images of 400 patients. The minimum number of MLFs was 0, and the maximum number of MLFs was 5. MLFs were found in 84.5% of the analyzed images. In our study, PLFs were most common in the central incisors region with a rate of 45.9%, and POLFs were found in the second premolar region with a rate of 37.4%. Conclusions: Together with this study, it has been shown that the prevalence of lingual foramina is high in the Turkish population. Therefore, caution should be exercised during implant treatment, especially in the mandibular interforaminal region.