Evaluation of Horizontal Position of Mental Foramen in Relation to Mandibular Premolar in the Panoramic Radiograph in Rafsanjan City in 2014

knowledge of the position of the mental foramen is important in administering local anesthesia for routine dental procedures and in performing surgery in the mandible. Because of this anatomical structures importance on one hand and the variations seen in its position in different ethnic groups on the other, this study was designed to evaluate its horizontal position of mental foramen in relation to mandibular premolars in panoramic radiographs in Rafsauyaucity In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the number of 152 patients referred to the private maxillofacial radiology center of Rafsanjan, who had the inclusion criteria and needed for dental panoramic radiographs, were examined. Horizontal position of mental foramen was evaluated in relation to mandibular first and second premolar and results were recorded in the attached checklist. Then, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for statistical analysis. Panoramic radiographs of 76 male and 76 female were assessed. The most frequent position for the mental foramen was between the first and second mandibular premolars with an approximate frequency of 44%. The current finding, consistent with the result of other studies, showed that patient's gender and age do not have any effect on the mental foramen position (p>0.05). In the present study it can concluded that the most frequent position for the mental foramen in Iranian race in Rafsanjan city is between the first and second mandibular premolars and then the apex of second mandibular premolar is the most frequent position.