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Prevalence and characteristics of accessory mandibular canals in an eastern Chinese population by cone beam computed tomography

  • Anatomic Variations
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Abstract

Purpose

This retrospective study aimed to determine the prevalence and morphological characteristics of accessory mandibular canals (AMCs) in an eastern Chinese population to provide clinical guidance for reducing intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Methods

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of 300 Chinese patients were used to identify AMCs according to a modification of Naitoh’s classification. The length of the branch (L0) and the upper and lower angles between the branch and mandibular canal were measured on sagittal images. Additionally, the branches were divided into narrow or wide types by calculating the ratio of the branch diameter to the main canal diameter. The location of the bifurcation point was characterized by measuring its distance to the buccal wall of the mandible (L1), lingual wall of the mandible (L2) and alveolar ridge (L3).

Results

The prevalence rate of AMCs was 40.7% (95% CI: 35.1–46.3), and the most common type was the retromolar canal, followed by the forward canal, dental canal, trifid mandibular canals (TMCs) or others, inferior canal and buccolingual canal. Twenty-one cases of multiple branches with unusual patterns were observed in the study. The average values of L0, L1, L2 and L3 were 15.05 ± 0.63 mm, 5.79 ± 0.14 mm, 4.40 ± 0.18 mm and 14.61 ± 0.31 mm, respectively. The mean upper angle and lower angle were 141.59° ± 2.44° and 50.64° ± 2.57°, respectively. Approximately 20.8% of the branches were defined as wide type, and no statistical significance was found between different types.

Conclusion

AMCs are not rare anatomic variations of the mandibular canal in the eastern Chinese population; thus, CBCT examination is highly recommended for precise evaluation before surgeries involving the mandibles.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated or analysed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang (2022C03060).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Mengyao Yang and Jifeng Yang are co-first authors and contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, School of Stomatology, Stomatology Hospital, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Devices of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310000, China

    Mengyao Yang & Shuli Deng

  2. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, 219 Moganshan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou City, 310005, Zhejiang Province, China

    Jifeng Yang

Authors
  1. Mengyao Yang
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  2. Jifeng Yang
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  3. Shuli Deng
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by MY and JY. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MY, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuli Deng.

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Conflicts interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the ethics committee of Stomatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (Project No: 2023014).

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Yang, M., Yang, J. & Deng, S. Prevalence and characteristics of accessory mandibular canals in an eastern Chinese population by cone beam computed tomography. Surg Radiol Anat 45, 1505–1514 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-023-03215-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-023-03215-7

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