Retrospective Evaluation of Condyle and Ramus Asymmetry with Ortopantomography in Dentate and Total Edentulous Patients

Abstract

Objectives: A symmetrical facial appearance affects people's social relationships. Mandibular asymmetry directly effects the facial appearance and may have many morphological and functional causes. Clinically healthy individuals may experience complete edentulousness in advancing ages, which may lead to asymmetry in the condyles and facial appearance. Our aim in this study is to evaluate whether fully-toothed and total edentulous conditions cause changes in the vertical height of the condyle and ramus and also asymmetry. Material and Methods: A total of 200 patients (104 female, 96 male) with 100 fully-toothed and 100 edentulous were included in the study. Right and left condylar ramus were measured and recorded according to the asymmetry measurement index of Habets et al., with using tracing paper under the reflector light on the patients' orthopantomographic images. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS:22 package program. T-tests, Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests were used for comparisons. P <0.05 were considered significant. Results: In previous studies, the difference between the genders was found to be statistically insignificant, therefore we evaluated men and women together. In our research, the mean of the condyle and ramus height asymmetry index in edentulous patients was 4.76 mm and 2.12 mm respectively, and the mean of the condyle and ramus height asymmetry index in fully-toothed patients was 4.88 mm and 2.34 mm, respectively. According to the t-test, the mean of the condyle height and ramus height asymmetry index was found to be higher in fully-toothed patients but this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Although condylar asymmetry was more common than ramus asymmetry in this study, this difference was not statistically significant when total edentulous and fully-toothed patients were compared. Keywords: Habets technique; condylar asymmetry; ramus asymmetry

Keywords

• habets technique
• condylar asymmetry
• ramus asymmetry
• habets tekniği
• kondiler asimetri
• ramus asimetrisi
• habets technique
• condylar asymmetry
• ramus asymmetry