Evaluation of anatomical and morphological characteristics of the nasopalatine canal in a Turkish population by cone beam computerized tomography.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze as three dimensions the anatomical and morphometric dimensions of nasopalatine canal (NPC) in the coronal, axial and sagittal directions using cone beam volumetric tomography (CBCT) and to evaluate the effect of age, gender and maxillary dental status on NPC and buccal bone thickness (BBT).

METHODS: In this study, CBCT data of the 619 individuals aged between 17-86 years were examined retrospectively with respect to dimensions and anatomic variations of the NPC and BBTs. The correlation of age, gender, and status of edentulism of anterior maxilla with all the variables were evaluated.

RESULTS: The NPC and BBT showed important variability in terms of morphology and dimensions. Morphological assessment of NPC revealed that 26.17% of NPCs were conical shape, 24.71% of canals were hourglass-shaped, 16.80% of canals were cylindrical shaped, 15.83 % of canals were funnel-like shaped, 11.14 % of canals were banane-like shaped, and 5.33 % of canals were tree branch-like shaped. Males and females showed significant differences in the length of the NPC and BBTs in the sagittal sections. There were significant differences between age and BBTs. In addition, the length of NPC and BBTs were statistically different according to dental status.

CONCLUSIONS: These anatomical changes in terms of dimensional and morphological parameters revealed the importance of 3D imaging. Dentists should know and consider the variations in this canal in order to avoid possible complications during anesthesia and surgical procedures which were applied to the maxillary anterior region. More precautions should be taken during surgical procedures in females, elderly and edentulous patients.