Morphometric parameters of the joint space of the temporomandibular joint in adults

Due to the frequent occurrence and development of pathological processes in the temporomandibular joint, the need for detailed information about the width of the articular gap increases significantly.
The aim of the study was to investigate the sexual and bilateral differences in the dimensional characteristics of the articular gap of the temporomandibular joint in persons of the first period of adulthood.
Material and methods. We studied 620 cone-beam computed tomograms in the sagittal and frontal planes of 155 humans aged 21 to 35 years and having orthognathic occlusion, physiological occlusion.
The results and discussion. The width of the articular gap in the anterior section in the sagittal projection on the right was 18 % greater than on the left, excluding gender and sides, while in the upper and posterior sections it was 3.9 and 7.7 % less, respectively; on frontal tomograms, the width of the articular gap in all sections was greater on the right than on the left (in the medial section by 2.0 %, in the lateral – by 1.0 %). In women, the smallest joint gap width was observed in the upper section in the sagittal projection and in the central section on the frontal projection, being 20.2 % smaller than in men in these sections. In the frontal plane, the width of the articular gap on the right in the medial and lateral sections in women was larger (by 8.3 and 19.5 %, respectively). On the left in females the width of the articular gap in the sagittal and frontal planes was statistically significantly greater than in men: by 27.2 % in the anterior department, by 38.1 % in the central, by 9.5 % in the posterior, in the medial and lateral departments – by 44.3 and 6.6 %, respectively.
Conclusions. Bilateral and sexual differences in the width of the articular gap of the temporomandibular joint were revealed. Excluding gender and sides, it was 1.0–18 % greater on the right than on the left in the anterior section in the sagittal projection and in the frontal projection, whereas in the upper and posterior sections – 3.9–7.7 % less on the right than on the left. In the sagittal and frontal planes, the width of the articular gap on the right in men was 11.2–14.0 % less, than in woman, but in the anterior section it was larger by 17.0 % on the right. In women in the sagittal plane in the anterior, upper and frontal sections, in all departments, the width of the articular gap on the left was 7.8–20.0 % less than on the right, while in the posterior section in the sagittal plane it was 2.9 % larger.

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