Mandible

The mandible is the lower jawbone, and it holds the distinction of being the only movable bone in the skull. It is a horseshoe-shaped bone that holds the lower teeth, supports the muscles of chewing, and articulates with the skull at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) on each side. Every time you open your mouth, chew, speak, or yawn, you are moving your mandible.

Anatomically, the mandible has several important landmarks that dentists reference regularly. The mental foramen is a small opening on each side where the mental nerve exits, providing sensation to the lower lip and chin. The inferior alveolar nerve canal runs through the interior of the mandible, carrying the nerve that supplies feeling to the lower teeth. Both of these structures must be carefully avoided during procedures like implant placement, extractions, and injections. The mandible is particularly relevant in implant dentistry. The posterior mandible (the back of the lower jaw) often loses bone volume after teeth are extracted, especially if the teeth have been missing for a long time. This bone loss can bring the remaining bone dangerously close to the inferior alveolar nerve, making implant placement more complex. Cone beam CT scans are frequently used to map the nerve position precisely before surgery.

For your practice, the mandible comes up in conversations about wisdom teeth, implants, dentures, and TMJ disorders. When patients experience clicking, popping, or pain in their jaw joint, the issue is at the articulation between the mandible and the temporal bone. Having a basic understanding of mandibular anatomy helps your team explain procedures and conditions in clear, relatable terms.