Comparative analysis of the structural topography of the mandibular canal in case of bone atrophy using computed tomography

Abstract

Objective. The place of CT should be noted in the study of bone tissue, which allows us to establish the features of the structural topography of the left and right mandibular canals in relation to its structures, get information about the structure of the external and internal cortical plates and determine densitometric values that indicate qualitative characteristics that reflect the type of bone density, even in its age dynamics.Aim of the research. The analysis of structural topographic features of the human mandibular canal in case of bone atrophy caused by terminal dentition defects. Material and methods. The paper provides morphometric studies in absolute values, as well as the location of the human mandibular canal with acquired adentia in the form of terminal dentition defects after paraclinical examination of digital records of 243 CT cone-digital images, which were scanned by the Vatech PaX-I 3D Green extra-oral radiography system with a scan size range of 16x9 cm, a focal spot of 0.5 mm (IEC60336) of a 14-bit gray scale with a size of 0.2/0.3 voxel. Results. The obtained average absolute values characterize the existing qualitative morphological transformations, although they require statistical analysis, but can be used in making clinical decisions on the rehabilitation of patients by dental implantation, osteosynthesis, or the use of other maxillofacial reconstructive operations. Conclusions. In case of preserved dental rows (the first group of studies) the topography of the right mandibular canal approaches the lingual surface on the ≈1.5 mm, which is limited only by the cortical layer of bone tissue, in case of acquired terminal dentition defects - ≈3.8 mm. The "morphological transposition" for the left mandibular canal in the first comparison group is ≈ 2.1 mm, however, in individuals with acquired terminal defects - ≈ 3.05 mm, with a distance to the middle from the outer cortical layer of the lingual surface of bone tissue.