2018 Volume 16 Issue 3-4 Pages 49-53
The purpose of this study was to assess condylar fracture risk according to the classification of the mandibular inferior cortical shape using pantomography.
This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (EC15-12-009-1). 254 patients with suspected condylar fractures who underwent both pantomography and MDCT from April 2006 to December 2016 were included in this study. The mandibular inferior cortical shape was evaluated by pantomography on both sides of the mandible, distal to the mental foramen by specialist of two oral and maxillofacial radiologists, and classified into three types as follows; Type l: normal cortex, Type 2: mildly to moderately eroded cortex and Type 3: severely eroded cortex. Moreover, the patients were divided into two groups; Group I: normal bone mineral density (Type 1) and Group II: low bone mineral density (Types 2 and 3).
Of the 254 patients, condylar fractures were seen in 158 patients (62.2%). Of the 158 patients with condylar fractures, 27 patients were in Group I (17.1%) and 131 patients were in Group II (82.9%). Of the 96 patients without mandibular fracture, 57 patients were in Group I (59.4%) and 39 patients were in Group II (40.6%). There was a statistically significant difference between Group I and Group II in the prevalence of condylar fractures (p < 0.05).
Our results suggest that classification of the mandibular inferior cortical shape on pantomography may provide a risk assessment of condylar fractures.
