LAUSR

PurposeThe greater and lesser palatine nerves and vessels supply the hard and soft palates, and the roots of these vessels and nerves run through a bony structure. However, the arrangement of blood vessels in the maxilla requires attention during clinical treatments, but detailed morphological information about changes in the greater and lesser palatine arteries and nerves during aging is unavailable. We therefore need detailed investigations of the morphology of the donor cadaver palatine using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and macroscopic observations.MethodsWe investigated 72 donor cadavers using macroscopic segmentation and CBCT. The results’ analysis examined differences in skull measurement parameters and differences between dentate and edentulous cases.ResultsThe greater palatine artery and nerve showed different macroscopic arrangements in dentate and edentulous cadavers. We also classified three types of bony structures of the nerve and vessel roots in the molar regions of the palatine using CBCT images: the shallow groove, deep groove, and flat groove. The deep groove is the deepest of the three and is remarkable in edentulous elderly cadavers.ConclusionThis study of macroscopic and CBCT data provides information useful for planning dental implant surgeries and autogenous bone harvesting.