Degenerative Temporomandibular Disorders: An Assessment of Bone Trabecular Structure Using Fractal Analysis in...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology
• Orthodontics

Background:

• Fractal analysis quantifies bone trabeculae changes in conditions like osteoporosis and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
• Previous studies utilized fractal analysis for various bone-related conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To employ fractal analysis for assessing trabecular pattern alterations in the mandibular condyle of patients with degenerative temporomandibular disorders.
• To compare fractal dimension values between a study group with degenerative TMJ disorders and a matched control group.

Main Methods:

• 98 subjects (49 cases, 49 controls, aged 18-50) were clinically assessed using the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders.
• Panoramic radiographs were obtained and analyzed using ImageJ software for fractal dimension calculation.
• Degenerative changes were rated using Muir and Goss's method, correlating with fractal dimension values.

Main Results:

• A significant difference (p=0.041) was found in the mean fractal value on the left side between the case (1.35) and control (1.38) groups.
• No significant difference was observed in the mean fractal values on the right side (p=0.49).

Conclusions:

• Fractal analysis can detect alterations in the mandibular condyle's trabecular pattern in degenerative temporomandibular disorders.
• A combined approach using fractal dimension and degenerative severity scores is recommended for quantifying TMJ osteoarthritis more accurately.