Diagnosis Ability Evaluation of TMJ Condylar Disorders of Panoramic Radiographs in Senior Dental Students

Abstract

Introduction: The temporomandibular joint is a unique and complex joint in the human body due to anatomical and functional reasons. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the knowledge of the senior dentistry students of Yazd Dental School about temporomandibular joint radiographic changes in panoramic images in 2022-2023. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was conducted with the participation of 59 senior dentistry students. After obtaining the consent of the students and collecting their background information, a questionnaire containing 14 questions was presented to the students with the aim of examining the students' ability to distinguish between normal, dislocation, hypoplasia, hyperplasia, osteophyte and condylar erosion appearance. Finally, the descriptive data were presented in the form of numbers and percentages in the form of a table. Data analysis was done with SPSS version16 and T-test. The significance level of the tests was considered less than 0.05. Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference in students' ability score according to their gender and type of entry (national-international) (P>0.05). The grade of students according to general point average (GPA) showed a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, and considering the importance and high prevalence of TMJ disorders, senior dentistry students in Yazd City did not have acceptable knowledge about radiographic changes in the TMJ joint.