Evaluation of location and dimensions of genial tubercle in patients with class I and II occlusion with cone bean computed tomography images

Introdution: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome has potentially significant physiological and psychological consequences. The main method to control the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is surgical advancement of genioglossus muscle (GA) or genial tubercle (GTA). Therefore, for pre-operation arrangements, surgeons definitely need to know the exact location of genial tubercle and the muscles attached to it. The aim of this study was to evaluate the location and dimensions of genial tubercle in the patients with class I and II occlusion with cone bean computed tomography (CBCT). Methods:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, cone bean computed tomographyimages of 152 adults (76 males and 76 females) with class I and II occlusion were inspected and the location and dimensions of genial tubercle (Height =GTH / Width=GTW / the distance between the apices of central teeth and the Superior border of genial tubercle=LI-SGT / the distance between the inferior border of genial tubercle and the inferior border of mandible= IGT-IBM / the anterior diameter of mandible = MT) were evaluated. Patients were classified based on their gender and occlusion type.Independent Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used for data analysis and thedata analyzed using SPSS16 software. Results:In all the groups, GTH was located near GTW. The measured data for GTH, GTW, LI-SGT, IGT-IBM and MT were 8.6-06 .57 mm, 8.6-19.47 mm, 7.6-13.56 mm, 8.7-47.40 mm, and 14.11-57.78 mm, respectively. No significant difference was indicated for GTW and LI-SGT based on malocclusion and for LI-SGT based on gender (P>0.05). Conclusion:Various locations and different size of this structure among patients imply that it is necessary for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea to obtain a CBCT image before surgical operation