Correlating condylar dimensions with growth pattern: A radiographicstudy

Abstract

As lateral cephalograms are one of the mandatory pretreatment diagnostic radiographs for identifying the structural changes of the craniofacial skeleton including the mandibular condylar region, the present study attempts to evaluate the condylar dimensions in skeletal Class I cases with three different growth patterns using lateral cephalograms. This study aimed to evaluate the dimensions of the mandibular condyle and to determine any correlation with growth patterns in skeletal Class I patients. This retrospective study was conducted on the lateral cephalogram of the patients reported for orthodontic treatment. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria 60 lateral cephalograms were selected and distributed in three groups. The measurements of condylar neck length, condylar neck inclination, condylar width, and ramal length were measured on lateral cephalograms. The mean condylar dimensions were 12.18 ±1.44 mm of condylar width, condylar neck length of 16.82 ± 3.23 mm, and condylar inclination of 114.43⁰ ± 13.98⁰. The differences in condylar width among the three groups were not statistically significant. Pearson correlation reveals a statistically highly significant positive correlation between condylar neck length and ramal length. The condylar inclination was negatively correlated with the condylar neck length and ramal length but was not statistically significant. Within the scope of this study, it can be concluded that condylar width does not have a significant correlation with growth patterns. With the increase in condylar neck length, the overall ramal length also increases. There exists a negative correlation of condylar inclination with ramal length and condylar neck length but it was statistically not significant.