Prevalence of Type I Elongated Styloid Process among Dental Patients of A Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Background
Styloid process is a pointed bony projection extending downward from the temporal bone. The normal length of styloid process is approximately 20-30 mm. Keur JJ considered the length of styloid process longer than 30 mm to be styloid process elongation. The study was aimed to measure and observe the different types of elongated styloid process and find the prevalence of Type I elongated styloid process among dental patients visiting radiology department.
Methods
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study comprising 120 digital panoramic radiographs of dental patients of a teaching hospital. Ethical clearance was taken from Institutional Review Committee of a tertiary dental college. Convenient sampling was done. The length of styloid process measured in millimeters were tabulated and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 to calculate the frequency and percentage for each type of styloid process.
Results
Type I elongated styloid process (52.00%) was found to be the most prevalent with 52.08% in right side and 54.16% in left side. Type I was found in 56 (46.66%) of total male and 69 (57.50%) of total female patients. Mean value of length of Type I styloid process was found to be 33.19± 1.19 and 32.91± 1.04 in total male and female patients respectively.
Conclusions
The prevalence of Type I elongated styloid process was found higher than most of the studies conducted in similar settings.