CBCT scanners represent a great advance in dento-maxillofacial (DMF) imaging. This technology, introduced into dental use in the late 1990s, has advanced dentistry significantly. The clinical applications for CBCT imaging in dentistry are increasing. During the past 20 years, advances in diagnosis and treatment planning software applications have evolved with the concomitant acceptance of computed tomography (CT) and cone beam CT (CBCT) technology. CBCT has been widely utilized to understand and appreciate patient anatomy since its introduction and adoptionThe clinically relevant and that the...

The mental foramen is a funnel-like opening in the lateral surface of the mandible at the terminus of the mandibular canal. This foramen is contained entirely within the buccal cortical plate of bone. Generally the mental foramen is difficult to locate. There are no absolute anatomical landmarks for reference and the foramen cannot be clinically visualised or palpated. As a result, the reported anatomical position of the mental foramen has been variable and the most common location being below the apex of the second premolar or between the apices of first and second premolars. The position of...