The present study was performed to investigate how condylar bony changes related to craniofacial morphology. Twenty‐nine subjects (an average age of 18.8) with condylar bony changes were selected from orthodontic patients who had undergone both helical computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate suspected temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangement and condylar bony changes. Craniofacial morphology was assessed with lateral and frontal cephalograms. For each patient, six linear and five angular measurements were compared with an age‐ and sex‐matched population from the Japanese standard. In the bilateral condylar bony change group (bilateral group), osteophyte formation and erosion were the common bony change and were present in adult as well as juvenile subjects. In the unilateral condylar bony change group (unilateral group), flattening was the most common feature, erosion was only present in subjects below 19 years. Disk displacement without reduction was seen in 90.6% of the bilateral group, and in 76.9% of the unilateral group. In the bilateral group, retrognathic mandible was shown. In the unilateral group, all subjects exhibited a lateral shift of the menton to the side with condylar bony changes. These findings suggested that condylar bony changes might be progressive and unstable in adults of the bilateral group as well as juveniles of the both groups. It is concluded that condylar bony changes may be related to a lateral shift of the mandible and a retrognathic mandible in orthodontic patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) symptoms.

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