Mandibular ramus thickness based on cone beam computed tomography scan

Abstract

Mandibular ramus thickness is one of the most important factors that must be considered while performing bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO). Unfavourable fracture or bad split could occur while performing BSSO if the mandibular ramus is thin. To the best of our knowledge, there are only a few published reports with anthropometric data about the thickness of the mandibular ramus. The objective of this study was to measure the thickness of the mandibular ramus based on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to be used as a reference while performing BSSO. The study subjects comprised 61 data samples of CBCT-based DICOM images which reoriented in three planes, and we measured the thickness of the mandibular ramus. The mean thickness was 8.049 + 1.205 mm for males and 8.463 + 1.358 mm for females. For 18-30-, 31-40- and 41-50-year-old patients, the mean thickness of the mandibular ramus was 8.087 + 1.29 mm, 8.176 + 1.49 mm and 8.742 + 1.04 mm, respectively. Based on the CBCT images, there were no statistically significant differences between the thicknesses of the mandibular ramus in terms of sex and age.