Condylar and disk position and signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in stress-free subjects.

BACKGROUND

The authors conducted a study in subjects who tested free of psychological stress to determine the position of the condyle and whether that position was related to signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).

METHODS

Forty subjects underwent psychological evaluation to ensure freedom from psychological stress. The authors evaluated tenderness of the masticatory muscles and temporomandibular joints (TMJs) by means of bimanual digital palpation, and they determined the positions of the condyle and disk by using magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

A total of 23.75 percent of the condyles were displaced away from the centric position either anteriorly (3.75 percent) or posteriorly (20.00 percent). chi(2) analysis showed a relationship between the position of the condyle and displacement of the disk, as well as a relationship between the position of the condyle and tenderness of the TMJs.

CONCLUSION

Although these relationships proved significant, it cannot be assumed that displacement of the condyle away from the centric position is predictive of TMD.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Only two subjects were judged to have had TMJ internal derangement. Thus, the absence of psychological stress seems to have played a role in this finding.