Radiographic Assessment of Patterns of Entry of Mental Nerve into Mental Foramen in Palestinian Population

An important presurgical landmark in the mandibular premolar region is the pattern of entry of mental nerve into the mental foramen after its emergence from the inferior alveolar nerve bundle. Different patterns of entry of mental nerve have been identified. As panoramic radiographs are routinely used in presurgical evaluation, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the various entry patterns of mental nerve into the mental foramen. Total five hundred sixty-four panoramic radiographs taken for routine diagnostic purposes were selected for the study. The radiographs were assessed for the position and the entry pattern of the mental nerve on the left and right side. The entry patterns recorded were categorized as anterior loop, straight, or perpendicular. The study revealed that the most common pattern of entry of mental nerve was a straight one accounting for 42.2% in the right and 39.5% on left side, followed by the presence of an anterior loop in 30% on right side and 33.7 % on left side of the total radiographs examined, and the least common was the perpendicular pattern.