Prevalence of Ponticulus Posticus and Migraine in 220 Orthodontic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Ponticulus posticus (PP) is a medical term that describes an anomaly of the atlas (C1), which has a complete or partial bone bridge over the vertebral artery (VA) groove. The purpose of the study is to estimate the prevalence of PP in patients with a diagnosis of migraine. Methods: Cone beam CT (CBCT) scans (n = 220) were reviewed for the detection of PP in the University “G. D’Annunzio” of Chieti in the Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences. The sample included 220 Italian patients between 18 and 87 years. Pearson chi-square analysis (p p-value was 0.008065 (significant at p < 0.05). PP was more frequent in the migraine without aura group, without a statistical difference relative to the migraine with aura group. Conclusions. The study concluded that PP is positively associated with migraine.

Keywords

• ponticulus posticus
• pain
• CBCT
• arcuate foramen
• atlas
• migraine