Evaluation of the relationship between the degenerative changes and bone quality of mandibular condyle and articular eminence in temporomandibular disorders by cone beam computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether there was a relationship between the degenerative bone changes and bone quality of the mandibular condyle and articular eminence in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). METHODS: The study group consisted of 100 patients with TMD. "Diagnostic Criteria/TMD" was used to identify the pathologies. Degenerative bone changes and bone qualities were detected by cone beam computed tomography; the bone qualities were classified using the Bone Quality Index (BQI) scale. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found between degenerative bone changes and bone quality of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) according to gender (p > 0.05). However, degenerative bone changes were more frequent than articular eminence in the mandibular condyle. BQI Type III was the most common bone quality among all types of degenerative bone changes. DISCUSSION: Although no causality relationship was found between the bone quality and degenerative bone changes, low bone quality was found in TMD patients.