A comparison of the position of the mental foramen in Chinese and British mandibles.

The antero-posterior position of the mental foramen was studied in 68 Chinese and 44 British skulls of known or calculated age at death. All skulls showed low pre-mortem tooth loss and had a good occlusion. The position of the foramen was related to the body of the mandible as well as to the standing mandibular teeth using two previously published methods. There was no significant difference in the size of the Chinese and British mandibles. There was a significant difference between the two groups when measurements relating the foramen to the body of the mandible (symphysis menti) were considered, the foraminal position being more distal in the Chinese group. The modal position of the foramen in the Chinese sample was along the long axis of the second premolar, whereas in the British sample it lay between the apices of the first and second premolar. The foraminal position apparently moved distally in both groups with age and this was likely to be associated with mesial tooth drift and age-related attrition.