Temporomandibular joint asymmetry in asymptomatic skeletal class I patients

Abstract

Objectives: Analysis of TMJ asymmetry in a sample of asymptomatic skeletal class I patients.Methods : This study was performed on one hundred patients requesting CBCT scans. All patients were skeletal class I pattern. They were all free of TMD symptoms, midline deviation of teeth, open bite, cross bite, congenital craniofacial abnormalities or any systemic diseases which may affect joint morphology such as rheumatoid arthritis. TMJ was evaluated through linear and volumetric analysis. Qualitative condyle position was also evaluated. All measures were compared on the right and left sides.Results: There was relative asymmetry between right and left sides regarding all measured parameters. Condyle height showed the highest asymmetry, while condyle AP dimension was the least. There was absolute asymmetry between right and left sides regarding all measured parameters. fossa roof thickness showed the highest asymmetry, while condyle ML width was the least. On Correlating the R and L measurements, all correlations were positive with medium strength and were statistically highly significant. The highest correlation was shown in condyle volume while fossa roof thickness showed the least. The distributions of cases according to condyle position were almost statistically significantly different between right and left sides with 49 % percentage of agreement. Conclusion: TMJ shows relative and absolute asymmetry in skeletal class I asymptomatic patients.Advances in knowledge: TMJ asymmetry has been previously evaluated in different studies in correlation with TMD or craniofacial diseases mostly limited to two-dimensional (2D) imaging. Kambylafkas et al [2005] evaluated the association between unilateral degenerative joint disease and lower facial asymmetry. Yáñez-Vico et al [2012] analyzed and compared mandibular condyle morphology in patients with and without temporomandibular disorder. They concluded that condylar width, height and length asymmetries were a common feature of TMD. Trpkova et al [2000] investigated the amount of craniofacial asymmetry in female orthodontic patients with unilateral or bilateral TMJ internal derangement relative to the amount in female patients without TMJ ID. They found that the amount of asymmetry was not significant between females with normal TMJs and those with TMJ ID.

The Asymmetry of the Mandible in Patients with Unilateral Temporomandibular Joint Disc Displacement Confirmed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

“…Ahmed ( 13 ) used CBCT scans to measure the correlation of the left and right condyles of subjects without a diagnosis of TMD, thus detecting the asymmetry of the mandible. Toh et al ( 12 ) investigated patients with clinically confirmed TMD and dentofacial deformities, which was contrary to the patients in our research sample.…”