Related Experiment Videos
Prevalence of temporomandibular joint disk displacement in infants and young children
D Paesani1, E Salas, A Martinez
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Umeå University, Sweden.
Insights
Temporomandibular joint disk displacement is rare in infants and young children. This study found no cases, contradicting the idea that it
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Radiology
- Orthodontics
- Anatomy
Background:
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disk displacement is a recognized condition.
- Previous research suggested it might be a normal variant in infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of TMJ disk displacement in very young children.
- To clarify if disk displacement is a congenital variant.
Main Methods:
- MRI scans of TMJs were performed on 30 children aged 2 months to 5 years.
- Analysis focused on the superior disk position within the joint.
Main Results:
- All evaluated TMJs demonstrated normal superior disk positioning.
- A 95% confidence interval of 0.00-0.06 indicated a very low probability of displacement.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not support TMJ disk displacement as a congenital normal variant in this age group.
- This study provides evidence against the common occurrence of disk displacement in infants and young children.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of temporomandibular joint disk displacement in infants and young children.
Study Design:
Magnetic resonance images were obtained of the temporomandibular joints in 30 infants and young children ranging in age from 2 months to 5 years (median age, 3 years; mean age, 2.5 years).
Results:
All joints had normal superior disk position. The computed 95% confidence interval was 0.00-0.06, which implies a minimal probability that disk displacement would occur in this age group.
Conclusions:
The result contradicts previous suggestions that temporomandibular joint disk displacement could represent a congenital normal anatomic variant.