Application of a Cephalometric Method to the Temporomandibular Joint in Patients With or Without Alteration in the Orientation of the Mandibular Condyle Axis

Abstract

In a prior study,¹ the spatial relationship of the mandibular condyle was studied through a cephalogram based on laminographies of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The present method was developed with the aim of analyzing TMJ morphology and the spatial relationship of the mandibular head within the mandibular fossa, considering references far from these structures, as they may suffer shape alterations. This study was conducted in view of the importance of the study of morphology and the hard structures relationship, which constitutes the temporomandibular joint. Its purpose is to validate a new TMJ cephalogram method by analyzing joints with and without alterations in the orientation of the condylar axis growth. Sixty joints were studied through laminographies in maximal occlusion, examining those joints with and without alterations in the orientation of the axis during condylar growth for subsequent analysis. Results showed that those joints were in a posterior position and rotation of the mandibular head, and that they presented a greater inclination in the articular eminence compared to joints without alterations in the axis orientation. Moreover, a new cephalometric method could be validated, demonstrating that changes in the condylar axis orientation imply pathology; they could also be correlated with changes in the condylar position and in the glenoid fossa morphology.