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Objective: The objective of the current study was to utilise cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to determine the length of nasopalatine canal (NPC) and diameter of incisive foramen to provide useful data regarding implant placement.

Material and Method: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 204 patients (131 female and 73 male) were retrospectively evaluated. Sagittal sections of CBCT were used to determine the length of NPC and diameter of incisive foramen. For statistically significant data, Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare among different age groups. In addition, Mann-Whitney U-test was done to compare between the gender. Finally, Spearman’s correlation was done to determine the relationship of age with diameter of incisive foramen and length of nasopalatine canal respectively.

Result: The mean ± SD of the nasopalatine canal length was 12.93±2; no statistically significant difference were detected between genders (P=0.05). The overall mean ± SD of the incisive foramen diameter was 3.78±0.9; statistically significant difference were detected between genders (p=0.021). The diameter of the incisive foramen showed a weak correlation with age (Spearman’s rho=0.176, p=0.012), whereas the correlation between canal length and age was negligible (Spearman’s rho=0.044, p=0.532).

Conclusion: The current study demonstrates the variability of length of NPC and diameter of incisive foramen. A through CBCT analysis is recommended to avoid invasion of incisive foramen and nasopalatine canal and to reduce post-operative complication in implant dentistry.

Cone beam computed tomography, Implants, Nasopalatine canal, Incisive foramen