Effect of total edentulism on the internal bone structure of mandibular condyle: a preliminary study

• Published in: Oral radiology Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 268 - 275
• Main Authors: Coşgunarslan, Aykağan, Soydan Çabuk, Damla, Canger, Emin Murat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01-04-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Aged; Cancellous Bone; Computed tomography; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Dentistry; Female; Females; Fractals; Humans; Imaging; Male; Mandible; Mandibular Condyle - diagnostic imaging; Medicine; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Original Article; Radiology; Temporomandibular Joint; Fractals: cone-beam computed tomography; Mandibular condyle; Cancellous bone; Jaw, edentulous
• ISSN: 0911-6028; 1613-9674
• DOI: 10.1007/s11282-020-00444-z

Objective
The aim of this study was to assess the internal structure of the mandibular condyles in patients with total edentulism by applying fractal analysis on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and compare with dentate subjects.
Methods
A total of 136 mandibular condyles were assessed. All CBCT images were prepared with 0.25-mm slice thickness and maximum magnification. A 64 × 64 pixel region of interest (ROI) within the trabecular bone in the center of the condyle was selected. Fractal analysis was performed using White and Rudolph’s box-counting method.
Results
Control and study groups were age and gender-matched. The mean fractal dimension (FD) value of the study group was significantly lower compared to the control group (
p
 < 0.01). In the study group, the mean FD value of the females was significantly lower than males (
p
 = 0.01). For the control group, there was no significant difference between the genders for FD (
p
 = 0.11). There was no significant difference between the age subgroups of the female study group and the male control group for FD (
p
 = 0.22,
p
 = 0.33). The mean FD value of the younger age subgroup was significantly higher compared to the older age subgroup in the female control and male study group (
p
 = 0.03,
p
 = 0.01).
Conclusion
The internal bone structure of mandibular condyles in edentulous patients was found to be affected by edentulism. Fractal analysis can be used as an effective method for assessing temporomandibular joint health.