THE AIM OF THE STUDY

Was to improve methods for diagnosing the morphofunctional state of the TMJ in individuals with normal occlusion with various types of facial skull growth.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study comprised 35 volunteers aged 18—45 years (average age 25.6±4.8 years) with normal occlusion and intact dentition. Telerentgenography (TRG), cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound examination of the TMJ were performed.

RESULTS

Horizontal type of growth of the facial part of the skull was established in 13 people; 12 had neutral type and 10 had vertical type. According to CBCT data, in patients with horizontal growth type, the highest values of the parameters of the width of the articular head, the smallest parameters of the length of the condyle process and the size of the articular gap in the upper-anterior and upper-posterior sections were determined. In patients with the vertical type, an inverse correlation of values was established, which may be due to the anatomical features of the TMJ structure: the articular head is narrower and longer, and the articular gap is wider. According to MRI data, in all patients, regardless of the type of growth of the facial part of the skull, the posterior thickening of the articular disc was located at «11—12 hours» mark in the sagittal plane, and the poles of the articular disc did not extend beyond the poles of the articular head of the same name in the coronal plane. According to ultrasound data, the indicators of the size of the articular gaps were fully consistent with the conclusions obtained from CT and MRI. The smallest length of the articular pathway was found in patients with vertical growth type, the largest in patients with horizontal growth type.

CONCLUSION

Statistically significant differences in morphometric (the size of the articular gap) and functional (the length of the trajectory of the articular heads) parameters of the TMJ were established for various types of growth of the facial part of the skull, which confirms the need to study the state of the TMJ, considering the identified differences.