Shoko Gamoh, Yui Mori, Michiko Nakatsuka, Hironori Akiyama, Yumiko Ogawa, Yasutomo Iwai, Shosuke Morita, Kimishige Shimizutani

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Department of Oral Radiology, Osaka Dental University, Osaka, Japan.
Department of Dentistry, Sumitomo Hospital, Osaka, Japan;Second Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Osaka Dental University, Osaka, Japan.
Department of Oral Anatomy, Osaka Dental University, Osaka, Japan.
First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Osaka Dental University, Osaka, Japan.
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Abstract: The mental foramen is an important landmark for identifying the mental nerve, and the accessory mental foramen is a rare anatomical variation. This article describes the use of computed tomo- graphy (CT) to detect an accessory mental foramen that was initially misdiagnosed as a radiolu- cent tumour in the right premolar region of a 39-year-old woman by panoramic radiography. The case suggests that preoperative CT should be performed to detect any anatomical variations. This knowledge would help in diagnosis, preoperative planning and prevention of intraoperative nerve or vascular injury.

Keywords: Accessory Mental Foramen, Mandibular Nerve, Panoramic Radiography, Computed Tomography

Cite this paper: Gamoh, S. , Mori, Y. , Nakatsuka, M. , Akiyama, H. , Ogawa, Y. , Iwai, Y. , Morita, S. and Shimizutani, K. (2014) Accessory Mental Foramen Misdiagnosed as Radiolucent Tumour by Conventional Dental Radiography. Open Journal of Radiology, 4, 173-176. doi: 10.4236/ojrad.2014.42022.

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