Alteraciones anatómicas del conducto nasopalatino en pacientes dentados y desdentados en el sector anterosuperior utilizando tomografía computarizada de haz cónico*

Background: The nasopalatine canal (NPC) is a long and thin intraosseous passage present in the anterior midline of the maxilla that connects the palate with the floor of the nasal cavity. The objective of the study was to compare the measures of nasopalatine duct and its shape by cone beam tomography in dentate patients with respect to edentulous patients in the frontal anterior sector. Materials and methods: descriptive and comparative study, was taken from the files of the Imagenology Department 150 tomographies of anterosuperior dentate patients and 52 tomographies of edentulous in the frontal anterior sector. Unsing the Excel program and its tool “random”, 30 tomographies of dentate patients were selected as well as the 30 tomographies of edentulous. Were measured in the oblique sagittal plane the anteroposterior distance of the nasopalatine canal at the level of its upper, middle and lower third. To determine its height, the axial plane was taken from the level of the upper bifurcation to the palatal opening. The acquisition of images was done through the i-Dixel software of the 3D Accuitomo 170 MORITA, DICOM system. Results: the dentate patients present higher heights in relation to the edentulous patients. In edentulous patients the diameter have a larger size at the NPC channel level. The measurements at the lower, middle and upper levels in the cortices of the diameter of the NPC in dentate patients are lower in relation to the edentulous patients. Conclusion: Patients of 40 to 70 years old, male and female, with frontal anterior edentulism presented structural topographic variations that consist of greater width, smaller longitudinal dimension and larger transversal dimension being enlarged canals.