AN EVALUATION OF THE CONDYLAR POSITION OF THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR-JOINTBY COMPUTERIZED-TOMOGRAPHY IN CLASS-III MALOCCLUSIONS - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

The position of the condyle within the glenoid fossa was investigated in 21 adult patients with untreated skeletal Class III relationships a nd 18 adult patients with normal occlusions as controls. Axial compute rized tomography (CT) was used for precise measurements of the bony st ructures of the temporamandibular joints. In horizontal sections, the mediolateral dimensions of the condyles of the patient group were foun d to be statistically higher in the fossa. The anteroposterior glenoid fossa dimensions were found to be smaller in Class III malocclusions. The smaller anterior joint space dimensions in the Class III relation ships were also found to be statistically significant. The analysis of the measurements suggests that relative condylar protrusion with a re lative mediolateral elongation of the condyle within a relatively smal ler glenoid fossa are correlated with the anterior mandibular displace ment in skeletal Class III malocclusions.