Altered position of the medial lingual nutritional foramina at different stages of alveolar ridge atrophy.

To determine the altered location of the medial lingual nutritional foramina in different stages of bone resorption, 55 cadaveric mandibles were selected for this study from a total of 1532. Prevalence, location of the foramen (lingual, cranial, labial), application of Atwood classification (grades 1-6), and macroanatomic dissections were tools of this examination. An increasing grade of atrophy leads to a shift in position of the medial lingual nutritional foramen.