Morphological Variants of the Mandible Relevant to Oral Surgical Practice: A Radiographic Study at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife

A thorough understanding of mandibular anatomy and its variants is essential for safe and effective oral surgical practice, including inferior alveolar nerve block administration, third molar surgery, and osteotomy procedures. Despite this, institution-level radiographic studies on mandibular morphological variants in the South West Nigerian population are limited. This descriptive cross-sectional study analyzes panoramic radiographs of 320 patients seen at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, between 2021 and 2024. Radiographs were assessed for mandibular canal position and course, mental foramen location, gonial angle, condylar morphology, and the presence of tori or exostoses. Results reveal that the mental foramen was most frequently located apical to the second premolar, consistent with some but not all published African population data. A notable proportion of radiographs demonstrated bifid mandibular canals, a finding with direct implications for anesthetic technique and surgical planning. Higher gonial angles were observed in female patients, and a small subset demonstrated unilateral condylar hyperplasia morphology. These findings contribute a population-specific dataset that can improve clinical decision-making in oral surgery training programs in the South West zone. The study advocates for routine pre-surgical radiographic assessment as a standard protocol in oral surgical clinics in Nigeria. Keywords: mandibular morphology, panoramic radiograph, mental foramen, mandibular canal, Ile-Ife.