MANDIBULAR BRANCH MORPHOMETRY IN DIFFERENT CRANIOMETRIC TYPES

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The jaw is one of the facial bone most susceptible to fracture and deformities that must be treated with surgical procedures. On the sagittal split osteotomy of mandibular ramus technique (SSOMR) the horizontal cut is done on ramus medial aspect immediately above the lingula. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to verify the possible correlation of the height and width of the ramus with the gender and cephalic index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 48 adult, dentate, human mandibles were used, being dolicho- (16), meso- (16) and brachycephalic (16) specimens. The anatomic references on the ramus were: the most inferior point of the mandibular notch (I), the highest point of the inferior board (B), the most posterior point of the anterior margin, (P) the most anterior point of the posterior margin. RESULTS: The mean of the height and width of the mandibular ramus showed no difference compared with the cephalic index (dolicho – 47,05/ 32,09mm; meso – 47,27/ 32,57mm; brachicephalic – 46,41/ 29,58mm). Assessing the dimensions in light of the individuals gender showed that there was a height difference of the ramus in male individuals (49,08mm) that was higher than in female individuals (42,76mm). CONCLUSIONS: We believe our results should be used as reference in mandibular ramus surgical procedures, forensic investigations and morphometric comparisons with results of further studies in individuals from other nations.