VISUALIZATION OF INCISIVE FORAMEN USING TWO INTRAORAL PERIAPICAL RADIOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Background: Intraoral periapical radiographs are reported to show the incisive foramen as a typical anatomical landmark. In order to assess the visibility of the incisive foramen in the bisecting angle and paralleling angle approaches, as well as how visible it is in routine periapical radiographs, the current study was conducted.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated 90 intraoral periapical radiographs of maxillary central incisors. These were scored for visibility of incisive foramen by a radiographic expert using two intraoral radiographic techniques. The data was entered in Microsoft Office Excel sheet 2007 and calculated using SPSS version 20.

Results: In both the paralleling and bisecting radiographs, the incisive foramen could be seen in a total of 63.8% and 36.2% of the images, respectively.

Conclusions: The dentist must have a thorough awareness of how the incisive foramen appears on standard intraoral radiographs. Our research demonstrates that when compared to the bisecting angle technique, the paralleling technique delivers superior visibility of the incisive foramen. Therefore, it is recommended to use the paralleling technique approach to see the foramen.