A longitudinal study on the change in the bone density of temporomandibular joint with osteoarthritis using cone beam computed tomography

Abstract

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to analyze bone density change of the mandibular condyles with osteoarthritis. Hounsfield unit or computed tomography (CT) number (No.) were measured in the cone beam CT images of 49 mandibular condyles and analyzed to examine the changes of bone density in the progression of arthritic change. Hounsfield unit ratio with reference to the cortical plate in the lateral surface of the coronoid process was used as the parameters to compare the difference in bone density. CBCT image were taken and the parameters were analyzed three times with 8 months interval. Bone density in the region of interest (ROI) which was decreased by 4.36% during first 8 months(p<0.05), however, increased by 6.38% during the second 8 months(p<0.001). This result implies the mandibular condyles with degenerative change in the beginning go through regenerative change while they are under remodeling process. 지도교수 김성택