Pneumatized Articular Tubercle and Pneumatized Roof of Glenoid Fossa on Cone Beam Computed Tomography: Prevalence and Characteristics in Selected Iranian Population

Abstract

Mastoid pneumatization is often complete by the age of 5-years and may involve the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) region, including the pneumatized articular tubercle (PAT) and pneumatized roof of the glenoid fossa (PRGF). To prevent surgical complications, the diagnosis of these air cells is important. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of PAT and PRGF in the Iranian population. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, convenience sampling was used to select participants. CBCT radiographs of 239 patients were evaluated retrospectively. Prevalence, location, age, and gender of patients with PAT and PRGF were determined. SPSS 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 239 patients, 51 (21.3%) presented with PAT and 14 (5.9%) with PRGF. The mean age of the PAT patients was 47.92 ± 14.39 years. Unilateral PAT and PRGF were found in 35 (68.6%) and 8 (57.1%) patients, respectively. PAT prevalence was 51% in females and 49% in males. Conclusion: Surgeons planning TMJ intervention should evaluate radiographic imaging preoperatively to prevent intraoperative complications.

Zygomatic air cell defect - a brief review

“…In contrast most of the studies using the cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) have reported higher prevalence rates. [20,21,25,26] however only one study by Ribeiro-Nascimento et al (2015) using CBCT has reported lower prevalence rate of 3.3%. [3] Prevalence rate as high as 68.5% also have been reported in studies conducted using CBCT.…”

“…Studies involving zygomatic air cell defect have been conducted using different imaging modalities over the years also taking into consideration occurrence (unilateral/bilateral) and gender distribution. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] (Table1)…”

“…[5,12,13,15,16,19,20,[22][23][24]26] Some studies have reported no gender predilection between male and female study subjects. [14,17,18,25] However very few studies have shown a higher male predilection. [27]…”

“…Although studies on ZACD have been conducted at many countries most of the published literature originates from population based studies from Iran [4,12,24,25], Turkey [16,17,18,19,20 ] India [22,23,27], USA [5,13,14], Brazil [3,21], Germany [15]. the prevalence rates of ZACD was observed to more in studies conducted on the Iranian, Turkish and American population when compared to Indian population, however it is to be noted that most of the recent studies on the later population has been conducted with CBCT therefore more prevalence was observed owing to better visualization of the ZACD.…”

“…the prevalence rates of ZACD was observed to more in studies conducted on the Iranian, Turkish and American population when compared to Indian population, however it is to be noted that most of the recent studies on the later population has been conducted with CBCT therefore more prevalence was observed owing to better visualization of the ZACD. [26,25] Imaging modality used to asses ZACD Majority of the studies published before 2010 have been carried out using panoramic radiography. [13,16,19].…”