COMPARISON OF MRI AND ARTHROGRAPHY IN PAT IENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL DISTURBANCES OF THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR-JOINT

Patients and methods: 31 patients with clinically diagnosed dysfunctio n of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) were examined by magnetic reson ance imaging (MRI; 1.5 Tesla, T-R/T-E 600/30) in closed and open mouth position and functional arthrography with digital image recording. Re sults: Both methods agreed in the evaluation of the disc position. In 23 joints with displaced disc reposition was found in 11 cases and in 14 cases using MRI or arthrography, respectively. MRI proved to be sup erior in the diagnosis of sideways disc rotations. Joint hypermobility , eccentric disc displacement (n = 4) and perforation (n = 3) were sho wn by functional arthrography. Due to the good demonstration of osseou s, muscular and discoligamentous structures, MRI as a noninvasive imag ing modality is the method of choice for TMJ evaluation. Arthrography can be advantageous in complex functional disturbances or if MRI and c linical findings are inconclusive. The clinical diagnosis of disc disp lacement was found to be accurate in only 68% of the cases.