An anatomical study on the mandibular medial surface by CBCT analysis for safer implant placement

Introduction: This study examined the anatomical morphology of the medial surface of the posterior mandible using 3-dimensional cone-beam com puted tomography (CT) images to reduce the number of complications related to dental implant placement. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients were enrolled in this study with an average age ( ±standard deviation) of 44.28 (±13.05). On the coronal views cone-beam CT of the first molars, the distance between the top of the canal and alveolar crest vertical distance (VD), th e distance between the upper-most point of the canal and the point perpendicular to the lingual cortical margin of the mandible lingual distance (LD), the location of the starting point of VD for reducing from the vertical reference line (VD point), and the inclination of the mandibular medial surface (lingual inclination) were measured, and a statistical evaluation was performed using SPSS for Windows version 15.0. Results: The mean VD0 was 16.91±2.47 mm and VDx decreased with increasing x value. The mean LD was 5.27±1.36 mm. The VD began to decrease at the mean location of 6.12±0.96 mm from the vertical reference line. The mean lingual inclination was 1.52±0.72� . Conclusion: These results will assist in the accurate placement of dental implants and the reduction of complications, particularly in the case of preoperative implant planning using only 2-dimensional imaging methods. (ex. panoramic radiography)