Evaluation of the position and anatomic characteristic of greater palatine foramen and canal by cone beam computed tomography in Mashhad from 2010 to 2015

Background and objective: Knowledge of the relative position of the greater palatine foramen (GPF) for precise injection of local anesthetics and negotiating the greater palatine canal for blocking the maxillary nerve is of importance. The aim of this study was to define the position of the foramen relative to readily identifiable intraoral reference points. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, by purposive sampling, CBCT scans of full upper jaw of 61 subjects (46 female and 15 male) who refers to an oral and maxillofacial radiology specialist center in Mashhad, Iran. From 2010 to 2015 were examined for locating the greater palatine foramen in both right and left sides. (N=122) Patients under the age of 18, patients with deformity in maxillary bone and patients who had not second or third molar maxillary in each sides were excluded. To determine the anatomical position of GPF and the GPC path in each sides we study the dimensional CBCT in sagittal, coronal and axial planes in terms of distance of GPF from midline maxillary suture (MMS), distance of GPF from incisor foramen (IF) and the mean angle made by the line joining the GPF to the incisive foramen with the palatal midline. Measurements were made using Planmeca Romexis viewer software. We used two way ANOVA for analyzing the data. Outcomes were analyzed with SPSS version 11. All patient filled consent forms and the study was approved by the research ethics committee Findings: The foramen was opposite the third maxillary molar in 74.6%, in 16.4%, the GPF were situated distal to the third molar, 9% showed the GPF between the second and third molars, and none of them were located opposite to the second molar. The mean distances of the GPF from the midline maxillary suture and incisive foramen were 14.93 mm and 37.77 mm respectively. There is no significant difference between the mean distances of the GPF from MMS base on the MAN-WHITNEY test in both men and women, (P> 0/05) but there is a significant difference between the mean distances of the GPF from IF base on the MAN-WHITNEY test in both men and women. (P<0/013) The mean GPF angle with MMS was 23.69 and there is no significant difference base on the independent T test. (P> 0/05) The most common anatomic pattern consisted of the canal traveling inferior-laterally for a distance then directly inferior for the remainder (60.7%). Conclusion: This study showed that the greater palatine foramen is the most frequently opposite to the third maxillary molar that can minimize the risk of complications when performing procedures involving infiltration of the GPC

کلیدواژه ها:

Greater Palatine Foramen ، Greater Palatine Canal ، Anatomy ، Cone Beam Computed Tomography