A radiographic analysis of the mandibular canal of the edentulous mandible in different racial and gender groups.

Studies on the mandibular canal in the edentulous mandible have rarely been correlated with mandibular canal position, mandibular body width, mandibular canal width, thickness of bony plates, gender and race. The aim of this investigation was to examine the above parameters by studying the bucco-lingual relationship of the mandibular canal in dry edentulous mandibles of Black and White, males and females (n = 13 in each group), of similar age (mean 58, 17 yrs). The mandibles were radiographed cross-sectionally. The position of the mandibular canal in relation to the buccal and lingual cortical plates, and the widths of the mandibular canal and mandibular body, measured at selected distances, were recorded and the values statistically analysed. Race and gender do not seem to influence the position of the mandibular canal in the bucco-lingual plane. The location of the canal is predominantly closer to the lingual cortex in the bucco-lingual plane. It was found that the widths of the left and right halves of the mandibular body are not statistically significantly different but widths of the left and right mandibular canal are significantly different.