IADR Abstract Archives
Clinical and CBCT Findings in Patients with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Objectives: Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMD) is a multifactorial disease contributed by local biomechanical and systemic health conditions. Degenerative Joint Disorders (DJD) such as osteoarthritis are recognized as a major cause of TMD. Current diagnosis of TMD related to DJD relies primarily on clinical findings, but the emerging technique of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) opens a new horizon for TMJ evaluation. The aim of our study is to determine if osseous density and morphological changes on CBCT and number of systemic disorders are related to clinical diagnosis of DJD.
Methods: Data on 49 patients diagnosed with or without DJD, of comparable age and sex, were collected from UTSD’s BigMouth database. Diagnosis of DJD, presence of relevant clinical signs, and number of systemic disorders were extracted from EHR charts. On CBCT scans, cortical and cancellous bone densities were measured as gray values using the Invivo6 software, and radiographic findings of osseous changes were noted. ANOVA, generalized linear models, Pearson’s Chi-squared Test and Fisher’s Exact Test were performed with R statistical software. Subgroup analyses on age and sex were conducted to examine the effect of demographic factors on the manifestations of DJD.
Results: Neither cortical nor cancellous bone densities showed any correlation with presence of DJD. The correlation between number of systemic disorders and presence of DJD was statistically significant. Also, there was a statistically significant correlation between radiographic signs of DJD and clinical symptoms including crepitus and pain.
Conclusions: Lack of relationship between bone density and DJD indicates that bone density is not a diagnostic indicator for DJD. Positive correlation between the number of systemic disorders and presence of DJD confirms the multifactorial etiology for this disease. Correlations between radiographic osseous changes and joint crepitus and pain reveal the anatomical mechanism for manifested clinical signs and symptoms of DJD.
Methods: Data on 49 patients diagnosed with or without DJD, of comparable age and sex, were collected from UTSD’s BigMouth database. Diagnosis of DJD, presence of relevant clinical signs, and number of systemic disorders were extracted from EHR charts. On CBCT scans, cortical and cancellous bone densities were measured as gray values using the Invivo6 software, and radiographic findings of osseous changes were noted. ANOVA, generalized linear models, Pearson’s Chi-squared Test and Fisher’s Exact Test were performed with R statistical software. Subgroup analyses on age and sex were conducted to examine the effect of demographic factors on the manifestations of DJD.
Results: Neither cortical nor cancellous bone densities showed any correlation with presence of DJD. The correlation between number of systemic disorders and presence of DJD was statistically significant. Also, there was a statistically significant correlation between radiographic signs of DJD and clinical symptoms including crepitus and pain.
Conclusions: Lack of relationship between bone density and DJD indicates that bone density is not a diagnostic indicator for DJD. Positive correlation between the number of systemic disorders and presence of DJD confirms the multifactorial etiology for this disease. Correlations between radiographic osseous changes and joint crepitus and pain reveal the anatomical mechanism for manifested clinical signs and symptoms of DJD.