In cases of mandibular fracture, there are many variations in the condylar position in glenoid fossa. However, most show practically no functional disturbances in jaw movements. So the authors studied the relation between the radiological condylar position and clinical features.
The objects were 87 patients seen at the Department of Oral Surgery, Kyushu University Dental Hospital, between 1978 and 1983, and had taken in pre-. and post-treatment temporomandibular joint radiographs by modified Schaller's projection.
The results were as follows:
The condylar position in pre-. and post-treatment showed many variations, but we couldn't find a characteristic change in the condylar position at mouth close after treatment. The relation between functional disturbances and the condylar position were still not clarified. In our estimation after treatment, the jaw function seemed to be good in most cases because the condyles were situated at the anterior to the articular tubercle in the opening position. These results showed that the functional adaptation of the TMJ came about post operatively.
