PREVALENCE AND CORRELATION OF DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE OF THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT AND CERVICAL VERTEBRAE: A CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY STUDY

BACKGROUND Degenerative joint disease (DJD) is a noninflammatory arthritic condition. It occurs as a result of excessive forces that exceed the adaptive capacity of the joint. The etiology includes trauma, parafunctional habit, hypermobility of the joint, and/or internal derangement. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) plays a significant role in the evaluation of the osseous components of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). OBJECTIVE(S) The study was performed to determine the prevalence and the predictors (age and sex) of DJD of the TMJ and to investigate the correlation between DJD of the TMJ and the cervical vertebrae. STUDY DESIGN Two hundred and seventeen CBCT scans (from 138 female and 79 male patients) from the archives of a university-based imaging center were retrospectively analyzed. Two board-certified oral and maxillofacial radiologists recorded imaging features related to the degenerative findings of the TMJ. The data were then compared with a previous study on the same sample to investigate the correlation between DJD of the TMJ and the cervical vertebrae. RESULTS The prevalence of DJD of the TMJ was 23.7%. The most common finding was flattening of the condyle in the TMJ (23.5%), followed by surface erosions (12.9%). Sex and age comparisons showed no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of DJD of the TMJ. Furthermore, 63.5% of patients with DJD of the TMJ had cervical DJD as well. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS DJD of the TMJ was detected in nearly one-fourth of the cases. There were no differences in the prevalence of TMJ in patients of different age and sex. Flattening and surface erosion were the most prevalent osseous changes of DJD. The result of this study suggests a correlation of the prevalence of DJD of the TMJ with DJD of the cervical vertebrae. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the correlation between the 2 conditions.