The position and dimensions of the mental foramen in adult Malawian mandibles.

Background: The mental foramen is found on the anterolateral aspect of the mandible and transmits the mental nerve and vessels. The identification and actual location of this foramen is very important in clinical dentistry as well as in the microscopic and macroscopic evaluation of the morphology and maturity of the human mandible.

Methodology: We determined the position and dimensions of this foramen from seventy adult indigenous Malawian mandibles of both sexes.