Abstract
This study aimed to quantify the height of the mandibular condyle and ramus, condylar volume, and the asymmetry index in adult patients of different sex, skeletal class and vertical pattern using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), and to determine whether there were differences between these groups. The study used CBCT scans of 159 patients with a mean age of 32.32 ± 8.31 years. InVivoDental® software was used to perform both linear (condylar, ramal, and total height) and condylar volume measurements. Linear and volumetric asymmetries were calculated. There were not significant differences between right and left sides. The mean value obtained for condyle height was 7.27 mm, ramus height 42.3 mm, total height 49.6 mm and condyle volume 1907.1 mm3, with significant differences between men and women. Significantly higher values were found for condylar volume in hypodivergent patterns (p = 0.001) and for the asymmetry index of the condylar volume in Class II patients (p < 0.05). The prevalence of relevant asymmetry was high for condyle height and volume (73.1% y 75.6% respectively). Higher height and volume values were found among men, Class III, and hypodivergent patients. Linear and volumetric asymmetries were more prevalent among men, Class III and hyperdivergent patterns.
Highlights
Different techniques including clinical examination, photography, and radiography have been used to assess mandibular asymmetry[3,4]
This study provides information about condylar height (CH), Ramus height (RH), CH + RH, Condylar volume (CVol), linear and volumetric asymmetries in adult patients of different sex, skeletal class and vertical pattern, in order to determine whether there are differences between these groups
As for condylar volume, the present study found significant differences in asymmetry index between skeletal classes, which was higher for Class II patients, this finding being in contrast with Nakawaki et al study which did not find significant differences among skeletal classes[32]
Summary
Different techniques including clinical examination, photography, and radiography have been used to assess mandibular asymmetry[3,4]. In order to measure mandibular asymmetries quantitatively from panoramic radiographs, various techniques have been proposed, Habets’[12] and Kjellberg’s13 methods being the most frequently used. The method proposed by Habets et al.[12] is considered a reliable method for quantitatively assessing vertical mandibular asymmetry. According to these authors, asymmetry index values higher than 3% on panoramic images may be referred to as mandibular asymmetry[12]. Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is an accurate and reliable method for assessing craniofacial structures[24,25], providing a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of anatomical structures with high resolution and no magnification[26]. One study has described volume according to the vertical and anteroposterior skeletal pattern (in a Japanese population) but without taking into account the symmetry or asymmetry that subjects presented[32]
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