Comparison of skeletal and dental morphology in asymptomatic volunteers and symptomatic patients with bilateral degenerative joint disease.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of bilateral degenerative joint disease (BDJD) on the skeletal and dental patterns of affected individuals. There were 29 symptomatic female patients and 46 asymptomatic normal female volunteers. All study participants had bilateral high-resolution magnetic resonance scans in the sagittal (closed and open) and coronal (closed) planes to evaluate the temporomandibular joints. Linear and angular cephalometric measurements were taken to evaluate the skeletal, denture base and dental characteristics of the two groups. Analysis of variance was used to compare symptomatic subjects with control subjects. There was an overall retrusion of the maxilla and mandible with a clockwise mandibular rotation. The upper and lower denture bases were retruded. The upper incisor was more protruded, whereas the lower incisor was more retroclined in the symptomatic group. The overjet was also increased. This study suggests that subjects with BDJD may manifest altered craniofacial morphology. Clinicians should be aware of this possibility, especially for patients who are growing children and orthognathic surgery candidates.