Ultrasonographic evaluation of mental foramen and mental artery

The mental foramen (MF) is an important structure in the mandible, whose anatomical and morphological features should be fully known by clinicians, due to its localization and the neurovascular structures that pass through it. The mental artery, which is responsible for perfusion the anterior part of the mandible, plays an important role in the vascularization of the mandible since it is the continuation of the inferior alveolar artery. The aim of this study is to examine mental foramen morphology and morphometry in comparison with ultrasonography (USG) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), to evaluate the relationship between mental artery blood flow parameters and age, gender, dental status, alveolar crest height and mandibular cortical index (MCI) with USG. In our study, the patient groups were selected among the patients aged 18 and over who applied to Gaziantep University Faculty of Dentistry Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology for various reasons for CBCT imaging. A total of 120 mental foramen and mental arteries of 60 patients (21 males and 39 females), including 20 patients in each group, aged 18-39, 40-59, and 60 years and above, were evaluated. In the measurements made with USG; the mean horizontal diameter of MF was determined as 4.14 ± 0.86 mm, its vertical diameter as 2.93 ± 0.82, and the distance to the alveolar crest as 9.53 ± 3.85 mm. In the measurements performed by CBCT; the average horizontal diameter of MF was 4.62 ± 0.78 mm, its vertical diameter was 2.88 ± 0.68 mm, and its distance to the alveolar crest was 9.72 ± 3.33 mm. In terms of the horizontal diameter of MF, a significant difference was found between USG and CBCT measurements (p<0.05) It was observed that there was no mental artery where blood flow could not be recorded, 31 (25.8%) had strong blood flow and 89 (74.2%) had weak blood flow. When the relationship of the parameter that shows the blood flow in the mental artery with gender was assessed, it was found that the mean value of mental artery middiastolic velocity (MD) was significantly higher in men than in women (p<0.05). Mental artery blood flow parameters were compared according to MCI scoring and time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMAX), time-averaged average velocity (TAMEAN) and flow volume mean values showed statistically significant difference among C1, C2 and C3 groups, and the values were found to be significantly higher in the C2 group (p<0.05). In conclusion, USG is an effective method in the evaluation of the mental foramen, an anatomical structure in the maxillofacial region, and the blood supply of the mental artery.