Thyroid cartilage changes begin in the second decade of life with the horn of the thyroid cartilage, and spread throughout the individual’s lifetime to other cartilage plates. However, the objective of the present study is to assess if there is an association between thyroid calcification (TC) and sella turcica bridging (STB). Forty patients, 11 men and 29 women, aged between 40 and 62 years with a mean age of 48.6 years were studied. The sample inclusion criteria of this study were age in the fourth decade, no craniofacial deformities, no history of craniofacial surgical intervention, good-quality lateral cephalometric radiographs, and good visualization of the sella turcica (ST). A total of 40 registered patients were included in the assessment of calcification of the thyroid cartilage. Of these, 75% presented with thyroid calcifications, and 25% did not. Data on sex was available for all 40 registered patients. A total of 72.5% were female, and 27.5% were male. While in a comparison between calcification of the thyroid and calcification of the sella turcica, no statistical relationship was observed between the two variables. Thyroid cartilage calcification could be considered a normal part of the ageing process, while STB could appear on lateral radiographs due to superimposition of the anatomical structures. In this study, we found no relationship between thyroid cartilage calcification and STB, and a larger patient sample is required for evaluating calcification of the thyroid and STB.

Objective:The objective of this study was to compare findings from ultrasonography imaging (USI) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with those from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT).Methods: A total of 102 patients were included in this study. USI, MRI, and CBCT were performed in the TMJ area for all patients.Results: USI showed 100% sensitivity (Se), 82.76% specificity (Sp), 93.15% positive predictive value (PPV), 100% negative predictive value (NPV) and 94.85% accuracy relative to MRI for identifying anterior disc displacement (ADD), while the Se, Sp, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 100% for identifying joint effusion, relative to MRI. Moreover, USI showed a high agreement with CBCT, which had 98.08% Se, 94% Sp, 94.44% PPV, 97.92% NPV and 96.08% accuracy for identifying condylar irregularities, while MRI showed a 100% Se, 56.86% Sp, 69.86% PPV, 100% NPV, and 78.43% accuracy for detecting condylar irregularities, relative to CBCT. Conclusions: High-resolution USI is a useful diagnostic method for detecting TMJ pathologies; USI can supplement clinical evaluations for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs), and this imaging modality can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify internal derangement of the TMJ.

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