American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Original articleComputed tomography evaluation of the temporomandibular joint in Class I malocclusion patients: Condylar symmetry and condyle-fossa relationship
Section snippets
Material and methods
Thirty persons with Class I malocclusion, aged 13 to 30 years, underwent CT imaging of the TMJs. All participants met the following requirements: all permanent teeth erupted, except third molars; and no functional mandibular deviations, crossbites, open bites, evident facial asymmetry, or temporomandibular disorders.
Our methodology was described by Vitral et al20 and Vitral and Telles.21
The CT images were obtained with the patients in maximum dental intercuspation, and their heads were
Results
The descriptive statistics for each measurement are shown in Table I. The descriptive statistics for the evaluation of the concentric position of the condyles are given in Table II.
The mean depths of the mandibular fossae were 8.34 and 8.62 mm for the right and left sides, respectively (P = 0.106; r = 0.005). The mean anterior joint spaces were 1.29 and 1.22 mm for the right and left sides, respectively (P = 0.488; r = 0.001). The mean superior joint spaces were 1.57 mm for the right side and
Discussion
According to the literature, the most significant morphologic alterations and positioning asymmetries of TMJ structures are related to absence of teeth, dental abrasion, premature occlusal contact points, functional mandibular deviations, unilateral posterior crossbites, and dentoskeletal asymmetries. However, articular aspects that are characteristic of specific malocclusions were not determined. To date, it is unknown whether a morphologic condition or an articular positioning is typical of a
Conclusions
Of all measurements evaluated, only posterior articular space had a statistically significant difference between the right and left sides. There was a higher mean for posterior articular space on the right TMJ. Evaluation of the concentric position of the condyles in their respective mandibular fossae showed nonconcentric positioning for the 2 sides.
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