A Retrospective Study on Identification of Anterior Loop Pattern of Mental Nerve Entry into Mental Foramen in Digital Orthopantomography among South Indian Population

Background: In the premolar location of mandible, the mental nerve's entry into the mental foramen pattern is a significant landmark. Different patterns of mental nerve entrance have been discovered. The current experiment was attempted to detect the different entry routes of the mental nerve into the mandible using panoramic radiographs, which are employed in pre-surgical evaluation.

Materials and Methods: The current study used a total of 200 panoramic radiographs collected for diagnostic purposes. The location and entrance pattern of the mental nerve on the both sides were noted on the radiographs. Straight, looping, and perpendicular entry patterns were identified in the data. The data is tabulated and statistically analysed in SPSS software using Chi-square.

Results: The existence of an anterior loop was determined to be the most usual pattern of entry of the mental nerve, accounting for 79 percent of the total radiographs examined 21 percent , and a perpendicular pattern 6 percent. The p value is 0.432 and p value 0.309, with respect to age and gender respectively which is statistically not significant.

Conclusion: The findings obtained from the study within the limits, it can be stated that the straight pattern of anterior loop of mental nerve was the most common. A panoramic radiograph may be a viable radiological tool for detecting the existence of an anterior loop that should be confirmed in order to plan surgical treatments in the mandibular premolar region prior to surgery.