Relationship of condylar bone profiles and dental factors to articular soft-tissue thickness

The relationship between articular soft-tissue thickness and condylar bone profiles, compact bone thickness, and deviation in form was studied in central sagittal sections from 53 human temporomandibular joints. Because of the absence of normal standards, several definitions of thickness were used. The angular bone profiles had a higher probability of having thicker soft tissue in the superior sector (59%) than the other profiles. An ANOVA to test for soft-tissue thickness differences between profiles approached significance for the angular profile in the superior sector (P = 0.049). Neither compact bone thickness nor deviation in form had an observable relationship with articular soft-tissue thickness, probably because of the dynamic state of the articular tissues in young adult temporomandibular joints. The distribution of categories of articular soft-tissue thickness was not related to dental attrition; however, there was some skewing toward reduced soft-tissue thickness in the anterior sector in the group with loss of molar support.