Bilateral absence of mental foramen in a living human subject.

The mental foramen, through which the mental nerve emerges, is an important anatomic landmark in odonto-stomatology. Knowing its anatomic variations, according to the ethnic group or age, is essential when performing local anesthesia or implant and orthognathic surgeries. Besides the presence of a supernumerary foramen and variations in its location, numerous topographies have been described such as unilateral or bilateral triple foramina, hypoplasia or agenesis. The case reported here is extremely rare because it has been observed in a living and asymptomatic patient whose scan shows a bilateral absence of mental foramen.