Quantification of condylar resorption in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis

Objective. This study was performed to determine the condylar morphologic variation of osteoarthritic (OA) and asymptomatic temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and to determine its correlation with pain intensity and duration. Study design. Three-dimensional surface models of mandibular condyles were constructed from cone-beam computerized tomography images of 29 female patients with TMJ OA (Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders group III) and 36 female asymptomatic subjects. Shape correspondence was used to localize and quantify the condylar morphology. Statistical analysis was performed with multivariate analysis of covariance analysis, using Hotelling T-2 metric based on covariance matrices, and Pearson correlation. Results. The OA condylar morphology was statistically significantly different from the asymptomatic condyles (P<.05). Three-dimensional morphologic variation of the OA condyles was significantly correlated with pain intensity and duration. Conclusion. Three-dimensional quantification of condylar morphology revealed profound differences between OA and asymptomatic condyles, and the extent of the resorptive changes paralleled pain severity and duration. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010;110:110-117)