Tomographic stability of condyle fossa relationships in 40 treated temporomandibular disorder patients

Abstract

Statement of problem. Condylar position and stability after treatment of 40 temporomandibular disorder patients was studied. Purpose. This study determined pretreatment position and posttreatment condylar stability. Material and methods. Forty temporomandibular disorder patients with symptoms of muscles of mastication pain, temporomandibular joint sounds, attrition, interceptive occlusal contacts, and restricted range of motion were used. Axial corrected midcut sagittal tomograms were made of the 80 temporomandibular joints before treatment. Tracings from the tomograms were used to measure and analyze pretreatment position and posttreatment stability. Results. Pretreatment condyle fossa position was not concentric in 26 of 80 patients (32.5%). Posttreatment condylar position showed no change and was statistically stable. Conclusion. In this study of 40 temporomandibular disorder patients, no statistical change in condylar position was detected. Variable condylar positions were found in the 80 pretreatment axial corrected midcut sagittal tomograms. All patients were asymptomatic after 1 year. (J Prosthet Dent 1998;79:570-4.)