Accessory Mental Foramina Assessed by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: Report of Unilateral and Bilateral Detection Forámenes Mentales Accesorios Evaluados Mediante Tomografía Computarizada Cone-Beam: Reporte de su Detección Unilateral y Bilateral

In general, a human has a pair of mental foramina, a single foramen on either side. However, when it is double or multiple, and smaller than the mental foramen, the additional foramen is termed accessory mental foramen (AMF) (Sisman et al., 2012). An AMF foramen is reported to be rare, with prevalence ranging from 1.4 to 10% (Balcioglu & Kocaelli, 2009). Bidimensional radiograph examinations, such as intraoral and panoramic radiographs, are limited and depend on the geometric projection of the structure (Mraiwa et al., 2003; Angelopoulos et al., 2008), and can underestimate the presence or extension of this variation and are not entirely reliable for presurgical planning (Katakami et al., 2008). Although panoramic radiography is generally the most common choice for presurgical planning, its limitations must be taken into consideration. AMFs are rarely observed with conventional radiography techniques, because the long axis of an AMF is generally less than 1.5 mm, and it is difficult to recognize this structure (Sisman et al.).