Iván E.Godoy; Kimberly A. Valenzuela; Cecilia P. Arce; Marcelo R. Arqueros; Macarena C. Rodríguez; Sven E. Niklander & Patricio A. Meléndez

Anatomical knowledge of the nasopalatine canal (PNC) is essential for performing surgeries in the anterior sector of the maxilla and thus anticipating possible complications. The objective of this work is to evaluate and determine the anatomical and dimensional variations of the CNP according to sex, age and dental status. This cross-sectional study analyzed a total of 251 CBCT images obtained from the database of the Oral and Maxillofacial Imaging Service of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Andrés Bello University, Viña del Mar, Chile. To evaluate the statistical association between CNP variations with sex, age and dental status, the Student's T test, chi-square and ANOVA (p<0.5) were performed. The CNP showed variability in terms of morphology and dimensions. The most predominant shape of the PNC was cylindrical (65.33 %) and the most frequent shape of the canal curvature in the sagittal plane was straight inclined (54.98 %). The mean length was 10.92 ± 2.82 mm, being greater in men (p<0.01). The most frequent anatomical variation in the coronal plane was the single channel type (57.76 %). The effect of sex on the distance between the anterior wall of the PNC and the buccal crest of the maxilla was not significant (p>0.05). In addition, a significant difference was detected between the dental state and the dimension of the vestibular table in relation to the CNP (p<0.01). CNP variations should be considered to avoid potential complications during surgical procedures.

KEY WORDS: Nasopalatine canal; Cone beam computed tomography; Anatomy.

GODOY, I. E.; VALENZUELA, K. A.; ARCE, C. P.; ARQUE- ROS, M. R.; RODRÍGUEZ, M. C.; NIKLANDER, S. E. & MELENDEZ, P. A. Analysis of anatomical and dimensional variations of the nasopalatine canal by cone beam computed tomography. Int. J. Morphol., 41(3):881-888, 2023.