Ultrasonographic pilot study of mental foramen size, with and without postoperative neurosensory dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the ability of a portable ultrasound system to visualize the mental foramen in patients with unilateral neurosensory dysfunction after third molar removal.

STUDY

DESIGN

In 20 patients, an ultrasound scanner (13 MHz linear-array transducer) was used to measure the mental foramen. The anteroposterior diameter was calculated on both sides, and differences between injured and contralateral sides were tested. Intrarater and interrater reliability were calculated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

We found a relatively high reliability on interindividual observations (ICC ≥0.89) and intraindividual observations (ICC ≥0.76). The average diameter on the injured sides was significantly smaller than the control sides. Subjective sensibility was not significantly correlated to the dimension of the mental foramen.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate a reduced size of the mental foramen, as determined by ultrasonography, in patients with permanent neurosensory dysfunction. These findings have to be verified in a larger number of patients.