Does Ridge Morphology Affect the Location of the Inferior Alveolar Canal?

Considering the importance of the inferior alveolar canal (IAC), we investigated the relationship between its vertical and buccolingual position and alveolar ridge morphology.

To check the vertical position of the IAC, the height of the ridge was divided into four types: 1, 2, 3, and 4 zones from coronal to apical. To check its buccolingual position, the crest was divided into three types: buccally, middle, and lingually types. The position of the IAC in the vertical and buccolingual dimensions was investigated according to dental present status, dental region, alveolar ridge morphology, and sex.

In all of the ridge morphologies, the most common location of the IAC was in zone 3, except the Basal type (zone 1). In the buccolingual dimension, the canal was located in the middle of the ridge (53%) in both the dentulous and edentulous groups, except for the Kidney and the Toucan beak types. We found a statistically significant relationship between the vertical and buccolingual position of the IAC and ridge morphology, dentulous and edentulous situations, and the region of the ridge (p. value < 0.001).

Alveolar ridge morphology can affect the buccolingual and vertical location of the inferior alveolar canal.