A Study on the Stable Condylar Position by Measuring the Temporomandibular Joint Space

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stable condylar position morphologically by measuring the three-dimensional joint space using a reconstruction of the temporomandibular joints' (TMJs) osseous components based on a computed tomography (CT) image scan. Axial CT scans, with a 2 mm-thickness and a slice space of 1 mm, were taken from the right and left TMJs of one subject. In order to relate the digitally reconstructed TMJ images to the upper dentition, he wore a face bow unit as a reference that had three markers attached onto it. The three-dimensional data points from the serial CT scans were measured to reconstruct the TMJs digitally. The TMJ images composed of approximately 12000 points and the fossa of approximately 24000 points were reconstructed using graphic software. The distance distribution map was composed of the reconstructed condylar surface shaded with pseudo-colors according to the calculated joint space of 0-5mm at 1mm intervals between each fossa and the condyle measurement point.The distance distribution map made it possible to visualize effectively the morphologic characteristics of the condyle and the relationship between the condyle and the fossa. The lateral part of the joint space was the narrowest in the TMJ and the fossa was morphologically similar to the condyle. I supposed that these findings must have been the morphological characteristic of the stable condylar position.