Prevalence of mandibular accessory foramina using CBCT in a selected iranian population

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the frequency of accessory foramina in human mandible. Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 400 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of mandibles of 273 patients (120 males and 153 females), divided into four groups ≤30, 30–39, 40–49, and ≥50 years) with the mean age of 38.05±13.71 years (40.71±12.83 for males and 35.39±12.05 for females) were evaluated. The number and diameter of accessory foramina from midline to anterior border of ramus with 0.1 mm intervals were investigated. Data were analyzed with SPSS 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, I1, USA) using T-Test, Pearson's correlation coefficient and Fisher exact test. Results: Totally, 568 accessory foramina with mean diameter of 0.35±0.15 mm were seen. The frequency of accessory foramina in the studied patients was 83% with mean frequency of 88% in males and 80% in females. These results showed a significant difference between the genders in frequency of accessory foramen (P<0.001) although no difference was observed among different age groups. The highest frequency belonged to anterior lingual of mandible. The frequency of accessory foramina in posterior mandible was higher in females, while males indicated higher frequency in anterior mandible. No significant difference was found in the frequency of accessory foramina between the right and left sides of the mandible. Conclusion: The results suggested, the survey of accessory foramina is recommended in CBCT images of mandible for therapeutic reasons due to higher frequency of accessory foramina in mandible

Age estimation by pulp/tooth area ratio in anterior teeth using cone-beam computed tomography: comparison of four teeth

Objectives: Age estimation is one of the most important factors in forensic medicine. Measuring secondary dentin deposition using cone-beam computed tomography images is an easy and noninvasive method. The aim of this study was to evaluate cone-beam computed tomography images as a reliable method to estimate chronological age by pulp/teeth ratio in anterior teeth in Iranian population. Methodology: A total of 649 CBCT images from 377 Iranian patients aged between 20 and 69 years were evaluated. Pulp/teeth ratio (PTR) in maxillary and mandibular canine and central incisor teeth was measured in the axial and sagittal sections using OnDemand 3D Dental software. The Pearson correlation coefficient was determined to evaluate the correlation between the variables. Linear regression analysis, as well as age estimation formula, was used for each tooth separately. Results: The regression analyses indicated that maxillary central incisors were more reliable for age estimation (R2=0.586 and standard error of estimate=7.045) compared with the other anterior teeth studied. Maxillary canine teeth had the lowest predictive power (R2=0.392 and standard error of estimate=8.387). Also, comparison of the axial and sagittal sections showed that the axial sections had a higher predictive power. (R2=0.48 for axial plans and R2=0.328 for sagittal plans). Conclusion:The use of cone-beam computed tomography in age estimation by pulp/teeth ratio of anterior teeth is useful and a reliable method for age estimation in Iranian population